You Lose, Miko!
by DYquem
Summary: Inu/YYH: Hiei/Kagome. How far would Hiei go to protect his sister from a creature as dangerous as a miko? "This is a good game. I can attack anytime I want. You lose miko." Won 1st place at thedeadliestsins 'In Harmony' writing contest.
1. Unfit & Out of Shape

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no ownership interest in Inuyasha or any of the characters in this fanfic. Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Yu Yu Hakusho is owned by Togashi and to whichever companies they have sold or licensed the rights. I make no money from this fanfic and appreciate Ms. Takahashi's and Mr. Togashi's willingness to overlook my playing in their universes.

This was written for the contest "In Harmony" at The Deadliest Sin, a Kagome/Hiei Board at http://thedeadliestsin . proboards55 . com

_It won first place, which is absolutely thrilling.___

This is going to be my first fic posted in several chapters. I expect it to be about 6 or 7 chapters when it is all posted. Everything is being edited again. The later chapters should be somewhat expanded from the version I submitted for the contest, and there will be a lengthy epilogue I hadn't had time to write before the deadline.

_**YOU LOSE, MIKO**_

Kagome was going soft. She knew it. Of course, she also knew some people would say she was soft from the beginning, but as she grew older she realized her strength came from her miko powers. The problem was she had little idea what to do with them. After she came back from the Sengoku Jidai and the well closed, she focused for a time strictly on high school to prove to everyone that it wasn't just a fluke and a little charity that got her admitted to the school.

Her teachers were all thrilled with her. She always did her homework, she focused in class and even when she didn't understand something, she asked about it. Many high school students didn't ask questions simply because they were too confused and then too embarrassed to admit they didn't understand something. Most took the attitude that it was much better to keep quiet and hope someone _else _asked the question. The teacher's lounge was often the scene of discussion and speculation about why a girl who studied so hard and acted so mature for her age had barely squeaked by admission.

The gym teacher was particularly pleased, and had asked her to go out for long distance running. Kagome did it as a way to avoid the archery team. She had tried out for the archery team and done really well until she concentrated a little too hard and burned part of a target with a purified arrow. Everyone thought it was just some fluke of the sun flashing off the arrow, but Kagome didn't want to take another chance. Clearly, it would not be wise to shoot arrows in public. She had spent too long learning to instinctively throw her miko energy into the arrow and it would be almost impossible to change that now.

She knew she was in good shape physically, but she still felt flabby, at odds and unkempt. It was her inability to use her miko powers in this century. She meditated and practiced making barriers. She kept up her target practice at home at the shrine when it was unlikely that a visitor would come by; but she knew it wasn't enough. She just felt flabby and that was all there was to it.

Kagome sighed.

"What's wrong now, missy?" Grandpa asked her at dinner one night. "You've been doing nothing but sighing tonight. I will tell you, you do not make a good dinner companion."

Kagome gave him a sour look, then sighed again and poked her rice. "I just need something to do. I miss everyone from the Sengoku Jidai, and as strange as it sounds, I miss the fighting and using my miko powers. Meditating quietly just isn't the same. I feel as though I got my full powers from the Shikon back only to lose them to lack of exercise."

"I thought you meditated, and practiced that barrier thing and your archery," Souta pointed out.

"I do, but it just isn't the same. I need someone to test me, to push me and to tell me what I'm doing wrong. I learned in the Sengoku Jidai that the harder we're pushed, the more we're able to do. I often got annoyed at Inuyasha for telling us to keep going because he thought it was too soon to rest; but honestly, if he hadn't pushed us, we wouldn't have accomplished nearly as much as quickly as we did and Naraku might have completed the jewel sooner. If we had had to fight Naraku before Sesshoumaru developed his new sword and before Inuyasha got the _meidou zangetsuha_ ability for Tessaiga, it might have been disastrous for us."

"I don't think Inuyasha would be much help in training you with your miko powers," Mama said with a smile.

"Well, no, but Kaede was showing me things. I learned the barrier from her and I've been practicing it here but don't know how strong it is since I don't have any way to test it."

Mama thought Kagome was bored. She wasn't a fool. She knew her daughter had changed and she knew she had been told a simplified and carefully expurgated version of events. Mama Higurashi read between the lines though. She knew that no one could go through the experiences Kagome had gone through and then quietly settle back into a modern day high school life of books, hair and boys. Inuyasha had also been a font of information when Kagome was not around. Everything was normal to him and he didn't think about deleting the really bad and dangerous situations from the stories he told Mama. You can't go home again, Mama thought sadly, and you can't recover your innocence. Her child was a woman, even at the tender age of 17. Kagome had been in a war.

Suddenly Grandpa snapped his fingers. "The nasty old woman!"

"What?" "Huh?" "Grandpa, what do you mean?" Everyone spoke up.

"I'm talking about the old woman who lives at that temple way out in the forest out of town, the one who is always rude and insults my ofudas when there is a gathering of shrine priests and priestesses. Now what's her name? Ginkei? Kenki? Genkei? No, it's Genkai. That's it. Genkai. Now there's someone who thinks highly of herself. That one's always insulting other people's spiritual energy. I'll have you know our family's ofudas have been famous for years, and she just insults them as of no worth at all. You should go there and demand training. She is always going on about how she'd only train someone with a high spiritual energy. Humph, I doubt she'd really know spiritual energy if it bit her on…"

"Grandpa!" Mama said sharply.

Souta and Kagome looked at each other. "Eh, grandpa, I'm not sure that's such a good idea." Privately, Kagome thought that anyone her grandfather knew could not possibly be a good candidate for a teacher, but she refrained from pointing this out to him.

"It's an excellent idea. I'll send her a note that you'll come by next Saturday, after your half day of school."

"Why don't you call her, grandpa?" Souta asked.

"The old biddy doesn't have a phone."

Souta leaned over to Kagome. "Perhaps she just didn't want to get a phone call from Grandpa," he said quietly, and Kagome giggled.

"I heard that, young man. Who taught you your manners," Grandpa scolded, but Mama and Kagome laughed.

"You did." Grandpa sputtered at Souta's comment, and everyone laughed again, even Grandpa.

---- ----

Chapter two: Genkai meets Higurashi's granddaughter; Kagome meets Yukina and Hiei meets a threat which needs eradication.


	2. A Threat to Yukina

Disclaimer:I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho and make no money from this fic.

Well, I've got no reviews, but perhaps chapter 2 will inspire someone.

Rated 'M' for safety

= - = - = - = =- =

Saturday afternoon found Kagome dressed neatly but casually in jeans and a nice top and climbing to the top of the stairs at Genkai's temple. She didn't have a lot of hope for the meeting, but the trip made for a pleasant diversion, and she figured it would at least be interesting to meet this Genkai who twisted her grandfather into knots. Besides, the scenery was gorgeous and reminded Kagome of the feudal era. She wondered if Genkai would let her visit again to simply enjoy the natural setting.

As Kagome approached the top, she started to sense some energy, both spiritual and youkai. Youkai? Youkai? Kagome unconsciously moved faster. She hadn't sensed any youkai energy since she returned from the feudal era, and the combination of both spiritual and youkai energy drew her like a pot of thick stew at the end of a cold day.

At the entrance to her shrine, Genkai waited for the girl she could sense climbing the stairs. Higurashi's granddaughter, she thought. Oh, joy. I get to tell some teenager miko wannabe without the spiritual energy Koenma gave a goldfish that I won't train her. Damn Higurashi for putting me in this situation. Humph. Clearly he thinks she's the be all and end all of modern day mikos.

At the top of the stairs Genkai and Kagome assessed each other. Genkai could tell that Kagome wasn't completely non spiritual, but couldn't tell if she had enough to be interesting. She strongly suspected not. Kagome, on the other hand, could sense that Genkai had more possibilities than she thought.

"I am looking for someone to train me in my miko abilities. They are weakening from lack of use. . ."

"Rather like a muscle."

"Yes, Genkai san, like a muscle, and my grandfather thought you would be able to help train me."

"Did he tell you I'm not taking students? Actually, I rarely take students. I trained someone 5 years ago and don't feel like training anyone else now. I like my solitude." Genkai could sense the girl had a bit a spiritual energy, but she certainly wasn't going to waste her time on the granddaughter of an old man who couldn't even tell that his ofudas were completely worthless.

"I'm very sorry to hear that." Really, Kagome wasn't all that sorry, but she wouldn't have minded a reason to return to this beautiful area. "Do you live here by yourself?"

"No." Genkai looked at her, but didn't offer any other comments. "Sorry I can't help you." She didn't sound all that sorry.

"I see. Do you have many youkai living here? I've not met any youkai for over a year and a half." Genkai blinked at Kagome's comment.

"Youkai?"

"Yes, youkai. I sense there are youkai in the area." Kagome smiled innocently. She was beginning to think that perhaps this Genkai wasn't as useless as she had thought. Of course, it was clear that Genkai thought Kagome was as powerless as her grandfather.

"What makes you think youkai exist?" Genkai asked. Kagome just looked at her. "You can sense youkai?"

"I can," Kagome replied.

"That takes some training."

"Some." Kagome agreed politely. Genkai eyed Kagome. Perhaps she got some genes from the other side of her family. Perhaps she would test her and send her on to some other person she knew who might be willing to do some basic training for a low level miko.

Yukina walked out onto the porch of the shrine, and Genkai glanced at Kagome to see how she would react. Kagome took one look at her, smiled and walked over to introduce herself.

"Hello, my name is Kagome Higurashi. I live at the Sunset Shrine and came here to ask Genkai to help me with my miko powers."

"Miko?" Yukina had a pleasant smile on her face but looked just a little nervous.

"Oh, don't worry. I don't purify youkai as long as they don't try to kill me first. What kind of youkai are you?" Both Yukina and Genkai stared at her. 'She's killed youkai before? Either that or she thinks it sounds good. Then again, it's easy to avoid killing youkai when you don't have the power to do it,' Genkai thought cynically.

"I'm a koorime." Yukina smiled. She took everyone at face value and if the girl said she didn't purify youkai without a reason, Yukina was perfectly willing to accept that and be her friend.

"Koorime? Wow, Sango said you're really rare, and virtually never seen because you always stay on some ice island or something."

"Yes, that's true, but I came looking for my brother."

"Brother? I thought all Koorime were women." Kagome laughed. "That just goes to show how little I know."

"Oh, no, you shouldn't think that. It is very nice that you know about Koorime at all. My brother was forbidden. He was the result of our mother having a relationship with a male, which was forbidden to all Koorime. To make it even worse, he was a fire youkai. We are ice youkai. Then the elders threw him off the island when he was a baby. I want to tell him how sorry I am that happened and how much I love him."

"How awful. The poor baby."

"He is my age now. We're twins. I know he is hurting from what happened, but I really want the chance to tell him I love him." Yukina smiled sweetly and Kagome just smiled back. It would be good to make a friend she could really talk to freely. She liked her childhood friends, and would always be their friend, but she truly had little in common with them and couldn't talk to them about anything. She might even tell Yukina about her experiences in the sengoku jidai.

"Would you like some tea?" Genkai offered. Kagome was surprised by the suggestion. She had thought Genkai was trying to offer her the proverbial door more so than a cup of tea.

"Thank you. That would be most enjoyable."

Genkai, Kagome and Yukina were just finishing up a cup of tea and some light snacks when Kagome felt the dark aura of a youkai head towards the temple at top speed. She sensed he was moving as fast as Kouga, if not faster. This youkai didn't seem friendly and there was a heaviness that didn't bode well. Quickly she jumped to her feet. "Genkai, do you have a bow and any arrows?" Genkai said she did not. "This isn't good. A youkai is heading this way, and his aura is dark and dangerous."

"Don't worry. It's fine." Genkai knew perfectly well who was headed in their direction.

"Genkai, it's not fine. That one isn't like Yukina. The aura is heavy and I think he will attack." Kagome was very worried. She hadn't had any hands on experience for over a year. Yukina was sweet but clearly not a fighter and Genkai didn't seem to know enough to really know what to do. She didn't even know enough to be concerned. "Oh, this is bad. Genkai! Yukina! Run!"

Suddenly Kagome saw a small figure burst onto the shrine grounds. He was short, but looked extremely dangerous, and she knew better than to discount power on the basis of size. He was dressed in black from head to foot except for a white scarf around his neck, and carried a sword which seemed a part of him. He glared at her from his ruby eyes.

Hiei knew what the strange female was. He could sense miko power coming from the vicinity of the temple and he had rushed there at top speed. He didn't particularly care if the power was weak or strong. A being with the potential power to purify his sister was standing not 6 feet from her, and he wanted to rip the threat into shreds before she could take the chance to purify Yukina. She was dangerous.

"Who are you?" Hiei had learned the age old concept, 'get your enemy to talk. It will take them off guard, and you can attack.'

"I'm Kagome, not that it's any of your business."

"Miko, you will leave instantly or die." As much as he wanted to kill her outright, he knew that Koenma would have a fit if he killed a human. But he had to get her away from Yukina and if she so much as released her aura a fraction, he would kill her before she could touch Yukina, Reikai be damned.

Kagome was worried. This youkai didn't seem like one of the nice ones, and he could easily kill either the gentle koorime or Genkai, who Kagome suspected thought she was stronger than she seemed to Kagome. Kagome remembered one like that from her travels in the Sengoku Jidai.

"Stay back if you don't want to be killed." It was an empty threat. Kagome knew she couldn't purify him without shooting him with an arrow, and there were none at hand. She just hoped he didn't realize it. He snarled viciously. Kagome yelled at Genkai and Yukina again to run, and emphasized it with a little push on Yukina's shoulder. She didn't take her eyes off the angry youkai, but the minute she pushed Yukina, she saw him tense to spring.

It all happened at once in a blur. Hiei raced towards Kagome, planning to cut her in half with his sword. She threw her hands in the air and desperately thought 'shield.' Hiei bounced off the pink barrier and fell back in pain from the burning sensation of holy energy. Instantly, he leapt up and cut at the barrier with his sword, snarling viciously. The burning kept coming through his sword, but he attacked the barrier again, desperate to get to his sister. Kagome was equally desperate to protect herself as well as Yukina and Genkai.

Genkai stared in shock at the barrier and the power emanating from the girl. THIS was Higurashi's granddaughter? This was not a case of the 'apple not falling far from the tree.' This apple seemed to have fallen in a different prefecture altogether!

"STOP IT! BOTH of you!" No one listened to Genkai. It was unlikely that either one of them heard her. They were too focused on each other and their self appointed tasks. "Hiei! Kagome!"

"ROSEWHIP." Suddenly Kurama ran into the clearing and attacked the barrier. He and Hiei had been together when they both sensed the energy at the temple. Kurama was fast, but he couldn't keep up with Hiei, especially when he thought his sister was in danger. Kurama came into the clearing and saw Yukina behind a barrier with the miko. He knew the potential danger to Yukina and assumed if Hiei was attacking that the miko had taken Yukina prisoner for some reason. Her powerful aura was unbelievably strong, and Youko told Kurama he hadn't sensed one this strong in centuries. The whip attacked the barrier, and its plant based material didn't transmit the purifying energy to him.

Kagome was exhausted, and she knew it. It was only desperation which kept the barrier in place, but anyone with any spirit sense could tell it would fall in moments. Kagome fell to her knees and the barrier collapsed. Kurama's whip was already in a downward snap. The entire fight had taken no more than 20 seconds.

**"ENOUGH!" **Genkai shouted while simultaneously throwing up her own barrier to knock Kurama and Hiei on their asses several yards away. Hiei instantly leapt to his feet and raised his sword. She used her spiritual energy to throw him on his ass again. "Stop it you two. Kagome is no threat to Yukina. She was defending her because you two raced in here flaring dark auras and acting like you were going to kill us all. Kagome was defending Yukina from you, you idiots. She's no threat to her."

"Hn. She is a Miko. A powerful one. Her very existence makes her a threat."

"Exactly, Hiei, so you two had better behave yourselves or she'll purify your asses, but she won't hurt Yukina." Genkai turned to Kagome, still kneeling on the ground, partially to recover from making the barrier and partially to recover from the shock of Genkai's power. Clearly the woman was VERY powerful. "And you, girl. Get up. You couldn't hold that barrier for 15 seconds, 20 tops. That's pathetic. When I get through with you you'll be able to hold it for hours." Then she snickered. "Either that or you'll be dead."

"Do I get a vote?"

"Hiei!" Kurama said with exasperation.

.. --- --

Chapter Three: How can you know about youkai and not know about the three worlds?


	3. A VERY Strange Miko

_**I don't own any part of Inyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. I make no money from this fic**_

..

"Hn. She is a Miko. A powerful one. Her very existence makes her a threat."

"Exactly, Hiei, so you two had better behave yourselves or she'll purify your asses, but she won't hurt Yukina." Genkai turned to Kagome, still kneeling on the ground, partially to recover from making the barrier and partially to recover from the shock of Genkai's power. Clearly the woman was VERY powerful. "And you, girl. Get up. You couldn't hold that barrier for 15 seconds, 20 tops. That's pathetic. When I get through with you you'll be able to hold it for hours." Then she snickered. "Either that or you'll be dead."

"Do I get a vote?"

..

Chapter Three: A _**Very**_ Strange Miko 

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"Genkai san, I am very sorry, but I will be unable to live here full time. I didn't realize you would expect such a thing," Kagome said sadly. Kurama, Hiei, Yukina, Genkai and Kagome were all sitting outside having another cup of tea. It was a good sencha and Kagome had been enjoying its lovely green color and sweet herbaceous notes.

"Of course I do. How else can you learn what you need to know?" Genkai pointed out.

"I need to go to high school. I missed so much middle school and barely got into high school so I have to attend and do well now."

Kurama sensed a story behind the words. She certainly didn't seem like the type to just cut school. "How is it you missed so much school, and how do you know about youkai?"

"Well. . . I was often ill during middle school," Kagome offered a bit weakly.

*Fox, the miko is lying.*

{Agreed, Hiei. Something happened during that time to teach her about youkai and to hone her powers.} Kurama sent silently back to Hiei.

[A miko is both born and made. Generations of girls have been born since the barrier went up, and never have I sensed a power such as hers. Most of them lived and died without knowing they had the potential to be different from other women. A few trained to work at shrines or developed low level abilities, but not one with such power,] Youko pointed out.

*For all her annoyances, the old woman is strong. She can be relied upon to protect Yukina when I am not here,* Hiei said.

{Yes Hiei, but Genkai is not a miko. Her power is not pure and holy. The miko powers are within the girl. They are a part of who she is and it is just a matter of training. Even Yusuke's power was not the same.}

Genkai eyed Kagome, who was alternating between Kurama and Hiei. She could tell some sort of communication was going on, even though she couldn't tell what kind. "Don't worry about those two," Genkai said. "They're talking to each other. They do that a lot."

"They're telepathic?" Kagome asked?

"Yes, I am." Hiei sneered. "I am not some weak ningen."

"No, but you ARE rude. Such a typical youkai. You always think you're so superior to us 'weak' ningen. There are plenty of youkai who died thinking that."

"How many did you kill personally?" Hiei asked with a skeptical expression.

"I don't know. I lost count after the first few dozen," Kagome said, and gave the Hiei a challenging look.

"Miko, you lie!" It came out automatically. Suddenly, Hiei's eyes widened. "You believe that? How?"

"How, what?" Kagome knew what he was asking, but there was just something about him that grated on her nerves.

Hiei snarled at her, and then glared at Genkai. "This is the female you trust near Yukina? You are a fool!"

Kagome stood up and leaned over him with her hands on her hips. Hiei leapt to his feet and glared at her with suspicious eyes. "Don't get your youki in a knot. I would never hurt Yukina. She's nice and inoffensive and seems caring, and why a sweet girl like her would be _your_ girlfriend…"

Kurama and Genkai both choked on hearing this.

"… is beyond me, but she's in no danger from me. _You_ on the other hand..."

"No, no, Kagome san, you misunderstand." Yukina shook her head and tried to correct her.

"Miko, you annoy me."

Kagome smiled at the surly little youkai with the very unusual hair, and suddenly felt much better. "Thank you very much. It's nice to know I haven't lost my touch in the last year and a half. I just love to annoy annoying youkai."

Hiei growled. "HOW?"

"How do I annoy them? It depends. I have lots of ways." She just smiled at him.

Hiei's left eyebrow and his sword hand were both twitching at this point, and Kurama decided he should step in before the miko was killed. He was certain Koenma would take that badly, and Kurama thought Hiei was close enough to kill her before she could raise a shield.

[That is another strange thing, Kurama] Youko said. [This miko talks about killing youkai, but she sat down with three of us over tea, and even though you attacked her an hour ago, she has no concerns about being close enough she is almost touching Hiei.]

{Perhaps she is so powerful she has no fears.}

[Nooo, I do not think so. She is very powerful, but seems to lack training or control. She isn't afraid of Hiei; but even more importantly, she isn't afraid of being close to him. I love puzzles, and this one promises to be very challenging. Maybe she would like to try a kitsune lover] Youko mused. [She's a looker. Once she learns some control, a tiny flash of that holy energy might be very entertaining.]

Kurama just rolled his eyes internally and said out loud, "Miko, he means…" Instantly Kagome's power flared as she turned towards him and interrupted.

"That's another thing. Enough with the 'miko'. My name is Kagome, not miko, wench, girl, ningen, bitch or any other name you youkai come up with."

"Onna," Hiei said with a smirk. Kagome spun on her heels and glared at the annoying little youkai.

"My apologies, Kagome san," Kurama said. "Most ningen do not know youkai exist and most girls who were born after the barriers were created never realized their potential miko powers. There was no need for them anymore. We are all most curious about why you have discovered and used your powers.

"What barriers?"

Everyone stared at her. Even Yukina looked shocked. "There are three major worlds. Ningen live in the Ningenkai, not the Makai." She ignored Hiei's snickering that Ningen certainly didn't live _long_ in the Makai. "Spirits mostly live in the Reikai; Youkai mostly live in the Makai. Kagome san, how can you know about youkai without knowing about the three worlds?

Kagome looked at her feet, as though they held the answer, and blushed slightly. "Well… that is. . ." She hesitated and eyed Genkai. She had been expecting to tell her story to Genkai eventually, but not so soon and not in the presence of unknown hostile youkai.

Genkai could read her thoughts on her face. "You may as well tell us. I won't train you without knowing your story, and anything like this I know, I will probably tell them anyway," she said, indicating Kurama and Hiei. "Despite their display today, they are fairly trustworthy with ningen matters."

"That may describe the fox, but don't insult me, old woman."

Kagome relaxed somewhat. Now I understand, she thought. He's a little like Inuyasha. What he does, and what he says he is doing are two different things. His actions speak louder than words. I do think he would have killed me, though, if he could have reached me earlier. She wasn't concerned about the kitsune, although she wasn't exactly sure what he was. He didn't seem like a hanyou, but was he part kitsune and part human? Kagome made a mental note to ask him more about why her senses were giving her conflicting information. Was he a full kitsune who just had a really good disguise? At any rate, he seemed quite friendly now that he realized she wasn't a threat to a friend of his. She would worry about it later.

"Have any of you ever heard of the Shikon no Tama?" Half an hour later, everyone was stunned. _THIS_ is Higurashi's granddaughter? I would never have believed it, Genkai thought.

"You learned from a Taijia." Hiei had heard of Taijia. They were legendary amongst youkai, like Enma's Spirit Defense Force, only more competent and focused. The SDF liked to think themselves feared, but the Taijia truly were the bogeymen of the Makai. Hiei had never seen one and he thought they had died out either shortly before or shortly after the barriers went up. That was well before he was born. He had, however, heard more than one female tell her child 'behave yourself and obey me or the Taijia will get you.'

"No, I didn't learn any slaying tricks from Sango. I had a hard enough time trying to figure out my miko powers, although I'm pretty good with a bow and arrow now. Sango studied her profession literally from the day she began to walk. There is no way I could pick that up. Honestly, after watching her fight and slay youkai, I think she was special for a ningen. No one had any concept of genetics back then, but I get the impression every one of her clan had really high spiritual energies and physical abilities. Besides, we were all too busy collecting shards and staying alive to learn much in the way of new skills. I learned to roast a great rabbit or fish, though," she ended with a smile.

Youko had been quiet during her story. He was too surprised to make any snide comments.

[She was born with the Shikon no Tama in her body! Just think what we could have done if we had met her before she fell into that well. I wouldn't have hurt her; but she couldn't have missed what she didn't know she had. A little sleeping plant, a little light surgery and we would have been undefeatable.] He could tell that Kurama disapproved of his thoughts. [Oh, well,] he continued pragmatically. [The Shikon is gone. There is, however, this delicious little miko in front of us who seems to like youkai in general and kitsune in particular. Kurama, ask her about that kit. How young was he? She let him tag along with her and the others for his protection. She didn't kill him? That is truly astonishing for a ningen and even more so for a miko.]

"Kagome san, I am curious about the kit you mentioned. He was young?"

"Yes. Well, very young for a youkai. He had little fox feet and only came to my knees."

"Hn. Was he one of the dozens you killed before you 'lost count?'"

Kagome turned on Hiei in a flash. Her power flared up around her. "That's disgusting. I might have known you were one of those types of youkai, killing anyone different from yourself, even if he was a child. Shippo had bright red hair, the biggest green eyes ever, and little fox feet. He had the cutest little pointy ears and the fluffiest bushy fox tail. That fox tail took a lot of shampoo and conditioner to keep in shape, let me tell you. He was the most adorable creature you could ever hope to see and _YOU_ would have just murdered him and eaten him like those wolf youkai wanted to do. He wasn't just some _**thing; **_he was clever and better than most his own age with his fox magic. He liked strawberry and chocolate pocky, and he could make wonderful drawings with his crayons I gave him. Sure he was a little mischievous and sometimes made mistakes and teased Inuyasha too much, but he was brave and strong and intelligent and I'm sure he grew up into the best kitsune ever. You would have just killed him off because you could. That's disgusting."

Everyone was stunned to hear Kagome's fierce defense of the little kit.

[Ask her more. She obviously cared for him. He wasn't just someone who tagged along with them and she didn't kill,] Youko demanded to Kurama. Hiei didn't know what to think. This was a ningen, a miko no less, defending a youkai child? Perhaps she was mental.

"How do you know he liked pocky and crayons if he was in the Sengoku Jidai?" Kurama asked.

"I brought them to him, of course. Shippo and Inuyasha loved ramen, _especially_ Inuyasha. It wasn't the good kind, mind you, but those cheap salty instant noodles you make with boiling water. We went through cases and cases of the stuff. It was definitely a good thing they were cheap," Kagome said with a smile.

"Are you telling us that for over a year and a half you were traveling back and forth to the Sengoku Jidai carrying modern products? Koenma would faint if he knew," Genkai said with a small grin.

"Of course. I'm probably the only one who can honestly say that hairspray saved my life."

Genkai looked dubious. "Do I even want to ask?"

"It involved a toad youkai who had infested a human lord. Under the guise of the lord, he was taking all the girls for kilometers around to save and then eat their souls. Hairspray is flammable and toad youkai are vulnerable to fire," Kagome explained.

"So you killed him?" Hiei asked.

"No, I couldn't let Inuyasha kill him because the ningen host would die."

Hiei was wondering when the explanations would get to the dozens of youkai she had claimed to kill. "Let me guess. You risked your life and your companions' lives to try to save the ningen lord."

"Well, of course. It worked, too. I got the toad out of the lord by igniting the hairspray and then Inuyasha killed the toad once the ningen lord was free."

"Fox, I was right. She _IS_ mental." Kagome chose not to respond verbally to this comment but she did give Hiei a good glare.

Kurama just ignored him also. He and Youko were more interested in the little kitsune. "Kagome, it sounds as if you were almost a mother to the little kit. You fed him, protected him, and brought him candy, toys and drawing materials."

"Sort of. I definitely brought him treats and I was teaching him to read and write. He definitely contributed, though. He and Kirara did a lot of the fishing when we had fish for dinner. He rode in my basket when I had the bike, and on my shoulder frequently when I was walking. Mama thinks I was more of an indulgent older sister. She thinks if I was really acting like a mother, I would have disciplined him a bit more and not let him get away with so much. It is just that he was so cute even when he misbehaved," she smiled reminiscently. "He had this big pink ball form that floated."

"A kit as young as you describe could float?" Kurama asked?

"Oh yes. Eventually he could carry one of us on top of him, but not when we first met. That floating form saved his life when I threw him off the cliff at the wolves cave."

"You threw him off a cliff?" Yukina was fascinated.

"Yes. He grabbed hold of Kouga's tail; Kouga is this wolf youkai who kidnapped me once." Kagome was puffed with pride over Shippo's accomplishment. "Shippo was so clever he disguised himself and attached himself to Kouga, then dropped magic mushrooms to show Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango how to find us. He got all the way to the wolf youkai's cave before being discovered. Kouga was going to feed him to his wolves. He needed me, but didn't care about Shippo. So I said if he did that I would never help show him the jewel shards. That's why he kidnapped me, you see; he wanted to use my ability to see the shards. It is also why he told his pack they couldn't eat me." She looked down and confessed, "I was really scared at first. I hadn't been in the Sengoku Jidai all that long and wasn't used to death threats yet. All the youkai were calling out parts of me they wanted to claim for dinner. Kouga told them no. But I couldn't let them eat Shippo. I had to say something," she finished fiercely.

*Fox, 'mental' is too weak a word for this onna. She could have been instantly killed by the wolves. They ate ningen for years.* Hiei sounded very confused.

[Some still do. I don't understand it either. This is a miko.] Youko was equally confused. Aloud, Kurama asked,

"So you prevented this adult youkai from killing the kit?"

"Yes, and then later helped him escape. Shippo transformed so he looked just like Kouga, and then he 'dragged' me out of the cave. Unfortunately, we were discovered right outside. Shippo's tail was still a problem for his illusions, and one of the youkai remembered Kouga leaving the cave previously, so they figured it out. I threw Shippo off the cliff so he could escape and then threw something at the youkai's spear which was aimed for Shippo." She nodded her head. "That wolf was really mad."

"What happened?" Yukina was absorbed by the story.

"Fortunately for me, Kouga came back just in time to witness my near death at the hands of the irate wolf youkai. Also fortunately for me, he was the alpha male. He prevented his pack from killing me. Kouga said he admired my loyalty and then said for the first, but definitely not the last time, 'I'm going to make you my woman. There. Got it? You're my woman now!' Then he tried to kiss me," she said with a blush.

"And?" Even Genkai was listening closely.

"Well, I didn't know him, and he _had _kidnapped me, so I slapped him."

"Hn. So this Kouga was one of the 'dozens of youkai,'" Hiei said with satisfaction.

"Hurt Kouga? Of course not. Don't be ridiculous."

Even Kurama almost fell over at that statement. "Didn't he try to kill you for slapping him?" He asked.

"Goodness no, he laughed."

"So this wolf was your lover?" Hiei asked? "You, a miko?"

Kagome gasped. "No! I turned him down many, many times. He just kept asking. He became a very good friend to all of us. Well, I don't think he and Inuyasha would ever really call themselves friends. I had to stop Inuyasha from killing him for kidnapping me though."

Hiei eyed her. "You are a very strange ningen, and an even stranger miko."

"Most unusual," Kurama agreed.

Kagome just laughed. "That's not the first time I've been told that. His pack certainly expected him to kill me. Somehow I always seem to survive the kidnappings." She shrugged her shoulders at the inexplicity of it all.

"How often have you been kidnapped?" Kurama asked.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. Let me think. There was Manton, Miroku very briefly, and then Kouga. Let's not forget Urasue. You could probably count Jura of the hair but that's a bit of a stretch. Then there was Menomaru, and the disgusting troll of a man who ate human youkai peaches… hmm…" She pondered, knowing there were at least a few others.

"Onna, how did you survive in the Sengoku Jidai?"

"Inuyasha protected me very well."

"Apparently he didn't protect you from being kidnapped," Hiei said scathingly.

"Those weren't his fault!" Kagome said. Hiei just eyed her skeptically, making it clear what his opinion was on that subject. There was a lull in the conversation as everyone thought about what they had just learned.

[Kurama, what are crayons?]

{Hmm? Youko, what does that matter? They are waxy colored drawing sticks, typically used by children to make pictures on paper} Kurama answered him. Youko was silent for a moment.

[Waxy? Hmmm, ask her if the kit ever drew a picture of a dog youkai wearing red, a cat youkai and a well?]

{What?}

[Just ask her!]

"Excuse me, Kagome san, did the kit ever draw a picture of a dog youkai wearing red, a cat youkai and a well?" Kagome's eyes got big.

"YES! That would make sense." Then she remembered the time just after they met Kouga. "In fact, I remember it now. He definitely did several pictures like that. The dog youkai was Inuyasha. How on earth did you know to ask that?"

"Youko says he stole an unusual picture about 100 years ago. It was very old, and was made using a waxy substance on paper. He is just now realizing that it could be a crayon. Apparently, he stole it from a red mountain kitsune, and the kitsune has been tracking him ever since. Youko thought it was strange because the picture was unusual, but it wasn't drawn by a great talent, and he could not understand why the kitsune tracked him so relentlessly. If that was Shippo and that was his last remaining tie to a woman he remembered from his childhood, it would explain his tenacity. Normally a kitsune would shrug off the loss and steal something nicer for himself. Instead he's been tracking Youko ever since."

[Of course, I'm older and more experienced than he is, so he can't find me, but he IS persistent.]

{You stole his picture. I'm not surprised.}

[He was part of the reason I got caught by that hunter. I was leaving an area before he arrived and was moving somewhat more precipitously than I would have liked] Youko reluctantly admitted, not without some anger at this kitsune less than half his age who followed him so doggedly.

*Hn. He almost caught up with you and you had to run.*

"Fox, why hasn't he found you? You have not moved in 20 years," Hiei said aloud, but Youko was the one who answered him.

[I did _NOT_ have to run. I could have killed him, and if we do meet, I may well do that to pay him back for his part in my death. I try to avoid killing other kitsune, but he will definitely know some pain] Youko thought with anticipation.

Hiei smirked and looked unconvinced. *The miko will not thank you for that.*

"The reason he hasn't found Youko is we're in the ningenkai," Kurama answered aloud. "Before the dark tournament and then the Makai tournament most youkai thought Youko was dead."

"What does he want?" Yukina asked.

"His picture back." Kagome had been listening to the conversation which was taking place aloud although she could tell some undercurrents were going on between the two youkai. "You stole Shippo's picture? That's just mean. If he had been keeping it and treasuring it for 400 years no wonder he has followed you so closely."

[I just thought he had a death wish.]

"Kagome san," Kurama said, "the kitsune Youko stole the picture from is not a child. 500 years has passed."

"I know, but I'd love to see him."

"Miko…" Kagome glared at Hiei. Would the youkai never use her name, she wondered? "If this fox insists on a fight with Kurama, he will lose."

"Don't say that. They don't need to fight. Kurama can return his picture and apologize to him."

Genkai snorted. Even Yukina stared at her in mild surprise.

"Kagome san, I have learned Youko Kurama does not make a habit of returning things he acquires," she said sweetly.

{Hiei, I had no idea your sister had such a gift for understatement.}

*Fox* Hiei growled warningly.

[Kurama, she is very strange for a ningen. Perhaps she really is interested in a kitsune lover.

*Not one who wants to kill the kitsune she knew as a child* Hiei said pointedly.

[I can get around that. It would be fun to be able to come out occasionally during sex, and we can't do that with the humans. Plus, I really like the idea of a touch of miko. Danger adds a little spice. I've never had a miko before. She will make a nice addition to my list.]

{YOUKO}

*Hn. It's possible. She IS mental.*

Aloud, Kurama told her, "Yes, well, if he finds me, it is certainly something we can discuss," He smiled sweetly at her.

Yukina said "It is too bad you don't have a picture of him. He sounds adorable."

"Oh, I have pictures."

Genkai choked. "How? You didn't take a camera…"

"Of course I did. Let me show you." Kagome started digging through her purse.

"I can't believe Koenma let all this go on under his nose." Genkai just shook her head.

"Who is Koenma? That's the second time you have mentioned him."

"Koenma is the prince of the Reikai. Hiei and I used to help his spirit detective Yusuke Urameshi capture youkai who were dangerous to the human world. Occasionally, we stopped humans who were dangerous to the balance of the three worlds."

"Wow. No wonder I never sensed any youkai at home. Between the barriers and you 'spirit detectives,' there were none. Your boss is the prince of the dead."

"He is _NOT_ and never was, my _boss_."

"Yes, Hiei doesn't usually play well with others," Kurama said slyly.

Hiei just growled. "You seem determined to die today."

"If he wasn't your boss, then why did you help this spirit detective?" Kagome wanted to know. Hiei gave her an evil look and just growled. Kurama answered her question.

"We stole artifacts from the Reikei vaults and were later caught by Yusuke. As part of our punishment, we were given a form of community service. We had to help Yusuke, who was a new spirit detective at the time."

"I would never have been caught if you had not betrayed me and if the detective didn't have infernal luck."

"Now, Hiei, I owed Yusuke my life. You know that. It turned out for the best in the end. Would you really have wanted the responsibility of world domination? Would you really have wanted to spend your days ruling and managing a bunch of ningen zombies?"

"No. It was a ridiculous idea. What would I want with a bunch of weak ningen, even if they were turned into demon zombies. I would have enjoyed the chaos they created, though."

"You would have been bored in a day. This way the Reikei owes us for all we did." Kurama looked at Kagome. "Hiei and I have helped save the Ningenkai on several occasions. Our probation is over," he explained to her. Kagome wasn't surprised that Kurama had protected ningen, but she looked over at Hiei. He was frowning and pretending the entire conversation wasn't taking place.

"Why do you stay here in the Ningenkai, then, if you don't have to any more?" Kagome asked Hiei. His glare almost literally set her hair on fire.

"Myreasons are my own, onna!"

"My name is Kagome. Ka go me. Not 'onna.' I suspect you stay for your girlfriend Yukina, to make sure that no stray miko comes to threaten her," Kagome said with a small smile and a glance in Yukina's direction.

"Yukina is _not_ my female." Hiei knew what ningen meant by the term 'girlfriend.'

"I am not surprised. She's so sweet and you're so surly. You raced to her rescue fast enough, though." Then she grinned and told Yukina, "He's one of the grumpy types. He probably likes you and is scared to admit it. He was desperate to get to you, though, and only a brother or a boyfriend would be that. . ."

"Koenma be damned. Be silent this instant or die, you obnoxious onna," Hiei threatened.

Yukina laughed. "Oh no, Kagome san, I do not think Hiei kun likes me in that way. He does care for me, though, almost as I imagine my brother would if he were here."

"I see," Kagome said as she eyed Hiei and Yukina thoughtfully. Genkai looked at her face and thought that perhaps this girl really _did_ understand. 'I can't believe this is Higurashi's granddaughter.' She also thought she should switch the subject before Hiei imploded from stress. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers.

"I've got it."

"What, Genkai san?"

"Is it contagious to youkai?" Hiei said with a smirk.

"Don't be impertinent. I may be an old woman, but I can still knock you and Kurama on your asses when I need to. Sorry to disappoint," she said dryly, "but it isn't contagious. No, I've got a solution for Kagome's need to attend school 6 days a week and her need for training and practice. That is, if you agree to it."

"_I_ agree to it? Why would _I_ agree to anything that would help that miko?" Hiei was offended.

"Kagome. My name is Kagome," She glared at him. Hiei eyed her and looked completely indifferent to her assertion.

"You will agree to it because it gives you something you seem to want. It gives you an opportunity to attack Kagome." Hiei raised his eyebrow in query. Everyone else looked startled.

"Now don't look at me like that. I haven't given away my last marble. Kagome, you need work, practice and training more than a day and a half a week. So you will come to me on Saturday after school and stay until Sunday night. If there is no school scheduled for the Saturday I expect you here Friday night. During the week Hiei can attack you."

Hiei smiled. "I like this plan."

"There will be rules, or course." Hiei scowled at that. "Hiei, you can attack her any time she is alone or with her family. In fact, I encourage you to attack her family. It will give her more to protect." Genkai laughed at the inner picture she created of 'Hiei versus useless old man.'

"I won't have my family hurt," Kagome said fiercely.

"Then you had better improve your barrier and the time you can hold it, girl. Hiei, don't attack her family if she isn't there to protect them. Girl, show me your barrier again." Kagome stepped away from Yukina and created a barrier.

"Why is it pink?"

Kagome looked confused. "It's holy energy. It's always pink. Kaede's barriers were pink and she had been making barriers most of her life."

"Humph. Antiquated. You are right it is holy energy, but it is wasted. All the energy going into making the barrier pink is energy which can't be used to strengthen the barrier. It's just wasted. Your first step is to make the barrier invisible. A spiritually aware person will sense it and know where it is located, but it should be invisible to everyone," Genkai explained. Kagome was excited. This was just the sort of information she was hoping to learn - new tricks and ideas.

"Once she has an invisible barrier, you may attack her in public, but if you are seen by a normal human, you lose the round."

"I will NOT lose to this miko." Hiei announced.

"I didn't think so," Genkai said with a smile. "Girl, you will defend yourself against Hiei's attacks. Protect your friends and family and attack Hiei when you can. Don't purify him, though. Strange as it sounds, he does have friends who would be unhappy if that happened." Kagome giggled and Hiei scowled.

"Old woman, I can be pushed into taking you on."

"Yes, but it would take the dragon to do me in, and that's a bit much for just a comment." Hiei growled at that and Genkai continued. "As I was saying, you will learn to make invisible barriers and attack Hiei."

"I'm sorry, but I can't use my miko energy as an attack without a bow and arrow. That would be a little noticeable in public if I tried to carry those around with me."

"You have a lot to learn, girl. Your grandfather certainly couldn't teach you."

"Onna, you could not attack me." Hiei said angrily.

"What?"

"You threatened to purify me when I attacked earlier. You lied."

"Of course I did. I certainly wasn't going to let you know it was an idle threat." Kagome looked at him as if he were crazy to consider such an option.

"If the old woman had not prevented it, I would have killed you. Why did you not use the barrier to run?" Kagome looked truly shocked at Hiei's comment.

"And leave Yukina and Genkai Sensai to you when your aura was dark and violent? I couldn't do that. I had to try. Yukina didn't seem as if she could protect herself, and I thought Genkai Sensai would not be able to either. I'm sorry, Genkai Sensai," she nodded in her direction.

Hiei was silent. He knew the miko had just met Yukina and Genkai that day but she was willing to risk her life to protect them. It was especially strange since Yukina was a youkai. It made no sense, but he could tell she wasn't lying.

"Mikos kill youkai. That is why they exist."

"Some do," Kagome agreed pleasantly. "So do I when I have to do it, but it is much better to make friends."

"Hn. I was right. You _are_ mental. Be prepared. I will attack you and your family as I please." Then he vanished into the trees.

.

.

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- * - * --

Chapter 4: the fights begin

It will probably be a week before Chapter 4 is posted as the story has reached the point where I want to add more to it. It all takes longer to edit and review than I expect it to take.

Thank you VERY much to each of my reviewers:

KagHieiLuver: my first reviewer on

Evil RULZ: I hope you enjoy chapter 3

&

On Mediaminer:

Loretta 537: Koenma didn't make an appearance in the version I posted for the contest, but he could show up in the expanded version. I haven't decided yet.

Yue No Rei: I hope you like the direction chapter 3 takes

Milenalupin: Thank you. I am trying to keep them in character as much as possible. I just got a good giggle out the idea that if Genkai knew Grandpa, she sure wouldn't think his granddaughter would be of any use at all.

KawaiiKekeChan: Thank you for your advice. I appreciate it.

PrincessRock 323: Thanks. I hope you liked chapter 2 and like chapter 3

Vampire_Bride: Yay. My first review.

If anyone knows how to get the formatting lines to actually indent into proper paragraphs, PLEASE let me know. Its driving me nuts but I can't get it to do it online.

If you liked this, please check out my other three fics. Two of them are Hiei/Kagome and the third is a general Inuyasha one shot showing what happens when Kagome's class finds out what she's been up to.


	4. This is a good game

_**I don't own any part of Inyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. I make no money from this fic.**_

"Mikos kill youkai. That is why they exist."

"Some do," Kagome agreed pleasantly. "So do I when I have to do it, but it is much better to make friends."

"Hn. I was right. You _are_ mental. Be prepared. I will attack you and your family as I please." Then he vanished into the trees.

Chapter 4:This is a Good Game

Kagome walked to school Monday morning. She appreciated the break. She knew she was in good physical condition but also realized she had lost some endurance since her time in the Sengoku Jidai. Suddenly she sensed a youkai and felt her shoulder pushed at the same time. She fell. Before she could get up she sensed something else and threw up a barrier. Hiei hit against it and flitted off, but she could hear him say,

"It's pink, miko. You lose."

She looked around but he was gone. Kagome stayed alert the rest of the way to school. She relaxed a little once she got around more people. She remembered one of the rules was that he couldn't attack her in public as he wasn't supposed to be noticed by normal humans.

At the end of the day Kagome said goodbye to her friends and walked towards the shrine. She stayed alert. She was almost at the top of the stairs when she heard Souta shout, "Hey, who are you? Awwkk." Kagome dropped her books and ran up the remaining stairs. She threw a large barrier up to take in Souta.

"Hn. Miko, it doesn't work if I am _inside_ the barrier," Hiei said with a smirk in his voice. He had Souta under one arm with the other around his throat." Souta looked scared.

"Uh, friend of yours, Kagome? Please tell me he's a friend."

"You lose, miko."

"I see it as more of a draw," Kagome responded bravely. "You have Souta but are trapped inside my barrier. You can't get out without being purified."

"So?" He raised an eyebrow dismissively. "I am in control. You would not trade your brother's life for a chance to kill me." Souta looked really worried at that.

"Onee san?"

Kagome dropped her barrier. "You're right."

"You lose, miko." He gave her a tiny grin and then flashed by her to scratch her arm before vanishing. 'This is easy,' he thought, 'and fun.' Already he knew he could manipulate the miko better with threats to her family rather than to her. This was a good game. He wasn't bored.

--- ----

That evening Kagome talked to her family. All she had told them Sunday was that Genkai had agreed to train her. Now she explained they were part of the training. Once they understood that he would not actually harm them Souta and Mama took it fairly well, but Grandpa was indignant.

"Don't you worry. My ofudas will set him straight if he dares try anything in my presence."

"Grandpa, he won't try anything when I am not around. The whole point of it is to get practice and make me protect you."

"I can protect you," Grandpa said. Suddenly Kagome had had enough.

"No, Grandpa, you can't. I love you dearly, but I don't want you to continue insisting you have power. You don't."

"Why my ofudas…"

"ARE USELESS! Grandpa, I am sorry, but they are not effective. I can't let you go on thinking they will do anything against a youkai. You have to recognize and accept that, especially now I know there are youkai in this time. You should have heard the way Inuyasha used to talk about them to Miroku."

"Kagome," Grandpa started to puff up.

"No, Grandpa. I'm sorry but you frighten me. I am really worried that if you met a hostile youkai you would try to put an ofuda on him instead of running away. You have to know the truth." They stared at each other for a few moments and suddenly Grandpa deflated.

"I can sense the youkai. I _know_ I can." Grandpa said in a forlorn voice. Kagome relaxed at hearing this.

"I know you can, and you are still the best priest in all Japan. You know all the stories and the history, and take perfect care of the shrine. You are a wonderful priest; you're a wonderful Grandpa and I love you dearly." Kagome hugged him really tight. "Besides," she added with a small grin, "I'm your granddaughter. You had to give me some of those genes that make me a miko, right?"

Grandpa's shoulders straightened up again. "So I did; the best ones no doubt!"

Mama watched the two of them and smiled. "Have I told you lately how very honored I am that you are my daughter?"

"Mama!" Kagome was stunned.

"Hey," said Souta. "Now that the gushing is over, can we have dinner?" Everyone laughed and dinner was a very convivial meal. They talked more about the changes over dinner. Mama still had a few concerns.

"Kagome, will this youkai hurt you?"

"I don't think so. He seems a little like Inuyasha, only much worse. At least Inuyasha knew his mother loved him and she taught him that his father loved him and his mother so much he gave his life for them. That is no small sacrifice for a long lived youkai. Hiei didn't even have the benefit of a loving mother and I don't know anything about his father." She didn't tell them about the barrier incident when they first met. Rather, she told them that Kurama and Hiei had raced into the clearing, but not how dangerous the situation really had been.

"I may get a bruise or two, but it's a good way to practice both sensing youkai and creating barriers."

"Alright. If it is what you want." Mama decided it couldn't be more dangerous than letting her wander around the Sengoku Jidai with a somewhat naïve, albeit strong, hanyou. Mama had not mentioned it to Kagome but she was actually relieved she had met and traveled with two people as competent and mature as Miroku and Sango. She knew they had been young but also knew that children were raised to be adults at an earlier age back then. She paid close attention to the stories and realized that even though Miroku was a horrible flirt, he and Sango had a great deal of sense and were actually very grounded and rational individuals. She had trusted Kagome in their care as much as she had trusted in the phenomenal strength of Inuyasha to protect her.

"It is, Mama."

Kagome could sense Hiei around the shrine that night, but everyone was inside and he made no attempt to enter the home.

--- ---- ----

As the days passed, Hiei and Kagome fell into a pattern of sorts. Hiei would attack going to or from school and usually both directions. If he had an opportunity, he attacked more than once in the same direction. Once she walked away from her friends during lunch. He flashed by and gave her a big bruise on her thigh.

"You lose, Miko." He said. "You would be dead if I wanted you dead."

"Lucky me you don't want me dead," she said coyly.

"I have not yet cast my vote," Hiei countered with a smirk.

Later that evening he attacked Mama as she and Kagome climbed up the steps after going grocery shopping, but Kagome felt the youkai approach and threw up a barrier around Mama and herself at the last second. It was still somewhat pink but very pale. Hiei drew his sword and attached the barrier, forcing her to maintain it. Two minutes later it fell and Hiei swept in close to scratch her. He followed that by hitting her with a small ball of energy. Kagome went down.

"You lose, miko. Two minutes will not protect anyone." He eyed Mama and vanished.

"Kagome, are you alright? What did he do?" Mama was very concerned.

"I'm fine Mama. This is what he is doing. He attacks me to force me to defend myself."

"It looked very painful."

"It stung a bit, but really it was alright."

"If you say so." Mama somewhat reluctantly concluded she had to let Kagome make these decisions herself. Perhaps she would go visit this Genkai on a day when Kagome would be at school. She wanted some assurances from an adult that her daughter wouldn't be killed by this dark violent youkai.

--- - ---

That weekend Kagome went back to Genkai's shrine for more direct training. She took her bow and arrows with her, and showed Genkai what her spiritual energy could do through the arrows. Genkai was amazed, but didn't show it overtly. She told Kagome about training Chu, Jin and the others and remarked that it would certainly be interesting to use her attacks against them. She thought both the youkai and the miko would learn from the experience. Kagome was willing to do it as long as Genkai thought the youkai would be able to duck in time. Really she was more interested in Rinku. The idea of a young teenage youkai using yo-yos as a weapon sounded like something she would like to see. Considering what she had learned about Kagome and her attachment to the kitsune named Shippo, Genkai wasn't as surprised as she might otherwise have been. Genkai made a mental note that if she did introduce Rinku to Kagome, she would keep a close eye on them to make sure Kagome didn't spoil the kid.

Kagome spent the next day and half being worked to death. She shot a quiver full of arrows at the beginning of each day and another one at the end of each day. Genkai insisted she make the arrows as strong as possible. They radiated a pink aura in the beginning and Genkai lectured her on that. She said she wouldn't get stronger and have more energy to use as long as her energy still came out pink. On Saturday afternoon she made Kagome run to the tree in the middle of the forest and back again. Kagome was definitely glad she'd gone out for long distance running which at least gave her some of the physical endurance she'd had in the feudal era. She was allowed to carry her bow and arrows with her so she would be able to protect herself from anything that tried to attack her. The bats made a couple of attempts, but Kagome found the practice of fending off Hiei's attacks came in handy. She felt their aura ahead of time and threw up a barrier. The barrier gave her time to get an arrow in her bow.

"Foolish ningen, do you think we can be hurt by something as simple as a bow and arrow. You wandered into the wrong part of the woods, little girl. Thank you for bringing dinner with you." The bat leader grinned evilly at her.

"Sorry, but I have better things to do with my time than work as a delivery girl for you. You'd better let me pass if you know what's good for you," Kagome said. "You wouldn't be the first bat youkai I've killed." She had faced way too many dangerous youkai to be extremely concerned about this group. 'Once you've faced down Lord Sesshoumaru and lived to tell the tale, there aren't a lot of others to worry about,' she thought with a tinge of amusement. She was a little worried about the number of them, but only one of them seemed to have significant power. Even the leader didn't seem nearly as powerful as a regular member of the colony she and Inuyasha had fought when they met the bat hanyou, Shiori. He certainly didn't come close to that colony's leader in power. Her only concern was their number. She watched as one of the underlings flew down to grab her. He wasn't even bothering to move quickly to avoid her arrow.

"Your choice," she said, as she purified him with an arrow. She had another arrow in her bow instantly. The ability to rearm her bow was another useful talent she had picked up in the sengoku jidai.

"MIKO!" The leader hissed in horror. The rest of the colony hissed amongst themselves. "Miko." "Miko." "Miko." Several of them moved to strategically place branches between themselves and the dangerous creature in front of them. Kagome didn't worry much about them. She kept her bow targeted on the leader, who looked both angry and disgusted.

"What is happening to this forest? Genkai is _ruining_ it. This used to be a wonderful place to live. It was a little bit of the Makai in the Ningenkai. Then Genkai took on that loud mouthed ningen boy about 5 years ago and the place has been getting worse ever since. There are powerful ningen all over the forest and the youkai who do come here to work with Genkai won't attack ningen. What's next? Will ningen be bringing school field trips of children through here to go on picnics? Where did you come from, miko?

Kagome gave him her trademarked grin and replied, "My mother gave birth to me about 18 years ago. That's all you need to know."

The bat just growled and then the entire colony took off through the trees. Kagome kept her arrow notched in her bow and continued probing with her senses. She still sensed a bit of youki around but it seemed vague and not particularly threatening. She started jogging again towards the tree in the middle of the forest. She had lost time dealing with the colony.

Hiei watched her go and continued to follow at a distance. 'So she will kill youkai when she needs to,' he thought. Despite her claims of having killed dozens of youkai, he had been beginning to wonder if she was so mental she wouldn't kill even if her life was in danger. Hiei had heard Genkai's plans and followed Kagome deeper into forest. He was careful to keep his aura down so she wouldn't notice him. He knew every threat the forest had to offer and while he enjoyed the exercise, he didn't think the miko could handle it yet. He had watched her taking the direct route towards the tree and straight into the path of that colony of bat youkai. Hiei had been ready to kill them all if it looked like the miko would really be hurt. This game of 'Attack the miko' was way too much fun to stop now. He certainly didn't want it to end because the miko got herself killed by an entire colony of weak bat youkai attacking her at once.

Kurama came over Sunday morning and repeatedly attacked Kagome's barrier. He also spent some time talking to her about youkai and kitsune. She enjoyed talking to him about adult kitsune as it gave her some insight into what Shippo might be like as an adult.

[Just to get her used to us, Kurama. We want to be helpful.]

{Youko, she is an interesting young woman. She is worth talking to aside from the possibility of having sex with her.}

[Sure kit, whatever you say] Youko replied, but there was a smirk in his voice.

*Kurama, you are distracting her. If you are going to attack her, then attack.* With that comment, Hiei flitted out of the trees and dashed past Kagome, pushing her onto the ground.

"Ackkk, I thought you were only attacking me during the week, Hiei," Kagome complained.

"Foolish, onna. I will attack you where and as I please. An attack can come at any time from any direction." Then Hiei ran towards her, forcing her to fling up a barrier. He kept attacking her until the barrier fell. This time it lasted about 3 minutes. He ran up and cut her arm before disappearing. "You lose, miko."

"Hmm," Genkai said. "I would have thought that Hiei would take advantage of the time you were at the temple to go about his business."

"Perhaps he still does not trust me around Yukina and wants to make sure I don't suddenly decide to attack her."

"Perhaps," Kurama said politely.

[And _perhaps_ the little fire youkai is annoyed that WE are planning to seduce the luscious miko. Every time we see her and talk to her, I am more and more in favor of that plan. She is just delicious] Youko commented with a smirk in his voice.

"BACK TO WORK." You'll never achieve a colorless barrier just talking to Kurama.

"Yes, Genkai sensei."

--- - --

On Sunday evening Kagome limped home. She was not injured as Yukina healed any bruises and cuts she had acquired during the previous two days, but she was tired and sore. A bath sounded like absolute heaven. She felt something on her mental radar.

"Not now," she thought somewhat bitterly. She sighed even as her barrier went up. Then she realized the sense of youkai was coming from the top of the stairs.

"Let me go. I'm not afraid of you. My family has been priests for generations." The angry voice could be heard clearly.

"Oh, no, it's grandpa." She ran up the stairs, ignoring her fatigue. She knew grandpa had somewhat accepted he was not powerful spiritually, but she was still more than a little concerned he would annoy Hiei so much he really would get injured.

Suddenly she remembered her bow and arrows, and took the time to string the bow and grab several arrows. Kagome could string a bow _very_ quickly. She saw them when she reached the top of the stairs.

"Let my Grandpa go, Hiei!"

"Make me, miko. I'm too close to him for you to separate us with a barrier. What do you plan to do? Ask me nicely?" Hiei smirked and grabbed the old man tighter. He was wriggling fiercely. "Stop struggling old man, or you really will be injured."

His eyes widened as he saw the burning pink of an arrow's energy as it flashed towards him. He pushed the old man onto the ground and jumped into the goshinbuko a split second before the arrow would have hit him. 'Hn. That… was actually close.' Hiei knew the arrow hadn't had enough power to kill him, but it would have definitely been painful. He stared down at Kagome who had another arrow in the bow and was aiming up at him from the base of the tree.

"Why did you push my grandfather down? You aren't supposed to hurt any of my family."

"Perhaps you would have preferred to shoot him with an arrow," Hiei said scathingly. "He was struggling so much I knew he would not avoid it."

Kagome digested that. "You _protected_ him."

"No. I do _not_ protect humans. I keep my promises. Your family will not be injured by our fights."

Kagome just smiled up at him and lowered her arrow. "Thank you, Hiei."

------- --------------- -----------

Chapter Five: Yukina and Kagome have a little talk about their favorite fire youkai, and Hiei finds out Kagome is more than she seems to be.

:

Evil RULZ and Lovelywitch: Thank you for taking the time to review. I really appreciate it and hope you both like the next part. It doesn't seem like many people are reading it on , but I'll certainly continue to post it there anyway for the ones who are reading it. I think Shippo really is a great character and like to think about things he did in the manga and what he might have done as an adult. The only unrealistic part, in my opinion, is in 100 years Shippo would have caught up to Youko a time or two to demand his picture back. A determined fox is a successful fox. g

Mediaminer:

Madmiko (twice): thank you so much for your kind words. It really helps to be told what works and what grabs a reader into the story. I also appreciate the feedback on whether or not the characters are OOC. I've tried really hard to think about how the canon characters would react to a situation and what they would say. Hiei trusts virtually no one so it makes sense to me he certainly wouldn't trust some strange miko for quite some time.

My3rdeyes: I've become real attached to the Hiei/Kagome pairing also. I may write some other pairings eventually, but this pairing just seems to work for me. Have you visited Thedeadliestsin board at proboards.? we talk about the characters and the pairing.

PrincessRock323: Thank you. Thank you. I'm really glad you like it.

ShinkanNeko: I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Dusken_Dreamer53: I am SO GLAD you caved. Thank you. If it is any consolation to you, this fic should be finished and fully posted in less than a month, so you won't have too long to keep it on your radar. I appreciate your letting me know you found it worth reading despite how much else you have to read. g

Yue no Rei: You are so right. Mama worries about them but leaves it up to Kagome's discretion and Souta just enjoys the whole thing and assumes Hiei is another Inuyasha. Except that he's not, and Souta should know what happens when you assume. It's Grandpa who is the real problem. g

Delunatic: Kagome is talented at pushing a youkai's buttons. It really is a miracle she survived the feudal era. In this chapter, though, he gets to start pushing a few of hers.

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	5. A Few Gentle Conversations

Chapter Five: Yukina and Kagome have a little talk about their favorite fire youkai, and Hiei finds out Kagome is more than she seems to be.

Genkai waited at the top of her stairs for another Higurashi. 'They seem to be coming out of the woodwork.' Genkai thought. Mama Higurashi chose a Wednesday to visit. She sent her a note asking to visit to discuss Kagome's training. Genkai was so surprised a parent was interested in her training she didn't think to say no. Yusuke's parent had barely noticed if he was dead or alive. She certainly didn't care to interview Genkai to see if her son was safe in her care. Mama arrived midmorning and sat down with Genkai and Yukina over a cup of tea. This time Genkai served a Gyokura from a fine single estate. The bushes had been shaded from the sun to intensify the sweetness of the leaf by increasing the chlorophyll and decreasing the tannins. She decided if Kagome's mother came to visit, the least she could do was to honor her with a fine cup of tea.

They chatted over a few trivialities and discussed Grandpa Higurashi a bit before Mama came to the point.

"I am worried about Kagome. I know it is in her best interest to train, but I'm worried about that youkai. He doesn't seem like Inuyasha."

"You knew Inuyasha?" Genkai sounded surprised.

"Oh, yes. He was constantly coming through the well to chew on her to come back, or to sit around the shrine and pout while she was at school," Mama said.

"An inu hanyou as strong as the one Kagome described pouted?"

"Yes, he certainly did. Personally, I think he missed Kagome deeply when she wasn't with him in the feudal era. The problem was he was very immature and didn't know any way to show it, so he'd come and complain she was spending too much time on school, or he'd make her mad somehow. At least when she was mad, her attention was completely on him. I felt so sorry for him. He had had no father and had raised himself almost completely without a mother. So I never got mad at him, even when he did silly things. I just smiled and fed him dinner. Ramen always went over well."

Genkai looked at Mama. "I don't know many women who would not only let their 15 year daughter jump back and forth 500 years to the past, but would let them befriend a male hanyou."

"It's what a person is _inside _that matters. To me, Inuyasha was just a regular boy with unusual ears. He really had the cutest ears."

Hmmm, Genkai thought. I begin to see where Kagome got her ways and attitudes.

"What happened at the end. Kagome didn't say."

"Somehow she and Inuyasha killed Naraku and destroyed the Shikon jewel. She still doesn't talk about it much, but I know she was trapped in the Shikon with Inuyasha, Lord Sesshoumaru and all their friends. At the end she apparently made 'the right wish' and wished the jewel to disappear. Grandpa, Souta and I were down in the well house. I was so scared. Kagome appeared but faintly, as though she were a ghost. Then she and Inyasha appeared together and I just grabbed her and hung on. Suddenly there was noise and I looked to see Inuyasha fading. I didn't think about it at the time, but he looked as though he was happy and despairing at the same time. You know the western story of Adam and Eve?" Genkai nodded at her. "He looked as if he was being expelled from paradise. It was tragic, but I couldn't let go of my daughter. She had returned to me and I was so relieved."

"Did Kagome love this Inuyasha?" Genkai wanted to know. This girl was just so unusual for a ningen, much less a miko. She certainly wouldn't put it past her to fall in love with a hanyou.

"I think she did. It was a first love, perhaps not the full love we hope to find that lasts forever. He really was very immature and didn't know what to do with his feelings. They were thrown together in a life or death situation. It was very intense. It might have developed into a forever love if it had been given a chance. There were complications I won't go into if Kagome has not discussed them with you. Instead she is here in the modern era, he is back in the sengoku jidai and 500 years separates them. After close to 2 years I think Kagome is ready to move on, but none of the boys in her high school interest her. How could they? She has experienced things and done things that are beyond their ken. How could any of them compete with an inu hanyou with cute ears, a special sword and a romantic past who protected her in real life or death struggles." Mama took another sip of tea.

There was quiet for a while as Mama, Genkai and Yukina sipped their tea. Genkai and Yukina thought about what they had learned about Kagome. Finally, Yukina spoke up.

"You needn't worry that Hiei kun will hurt Kagome san. He can be violent, but he understands this is just for practice so Kagome san will learn better control over her abilities."

"Are you sure? When he attacked us together, he struck her shield until it collapsed. Then he came and hit her with his claws, and then struck her with some kind of energy that made her collapse. I was frightened he would kill her," Mama said.

"Hn. If I wanted the miko dead, she would be dead" a flat voice stated.

Everyone turned around to see Hiei standing in the doorway. He eyed Mama Higurashi who stared back at him.

"You come here to ask the old woman if I mean harm to the miko." Hiei had heard enough of the conversation to know exactly what was going on.

"Yes." Mama said bravely to him. Despite what Kagome told her, he didn't seem in the least like Inuyasha. Inuyasha was an insecure, brave, strong boy. The male standing in front of her was clearly a man.

"I haven't hurt her yet, have I? She is still alive."

"Do you think that matters? I won't let you play this 'training game' unless you promise me you mean her no harm and won't really hurt her."

"Do you think you can stop me?" Hiei smirked at the ningen who seemed to think her threats meant anything. Genkai just watched the two of them. She thought Hiei had more to learn from this encounter than Kagome's mother.

Mama just glared sternly at Hiei. "I'm her mother. If you are a threat to her I will find a way to protect her from you, regardless of your power and my lack of spiritual powers. I am her _mother._ I _won't_ let you hurt her. If necessary I'll just lock her in a room without windows and stand in front of the door."

"I could remove you with no more than a finger," Hiei said.

"My daughter came back safely from the sengoku jidai. That's enough of a miracle for one life. It was her destiny to destroy the Shikon no Tama and I didn't interfere. I will _not_ let her get involved in something life threatening again. I will protect her by any means necessary." Anyone who knew Mama Higurashi would be startled at the determined look on her face.

Hiei eyed her. This was the second ningen mother who had expressed a willingness to be injured or even killed to protect her child. He could kill her easily and she knew it. Of course Genkai would get a barrier up quickly enough and this ningen certainly wasn't worth being accosted by Koenma, but she didn't know that. For all she knew, he could dash over and slit her throat before she could move. Yet she stood there and threatened him if he injured her daughter who was way more capable of protecting herself than the mother. What was it about these ningen? It was just this type of devotion which had captured Youko Kurama and tied him emotionally to his ningen mother. Were all ningen mothers devoted to their children this way?

"I am a youkai. How do you know I will keep my word."

Mama smiled "Oh that doesn't matter. Youkai, hanyou, ningen, it makes no difference. What's important is whether or not you are an honorable being and keep your word."

Hiei just stared. Was the entire family mental? He had heard the boy asking the miko about him. He wanted to know about his sword and his powers and how many youkai he had killed. It didn't seem to occur to the boy he had killed ningen as well as youkai. Granted he had killed mostly youkai, but that was just because he lived virtually all of his life in the Makai and not out of any avoidance or unwillingness to kill ningen. The boy seemed to think it was odd his sword didn't get bigger when it was drawn. He wanted to know if Hiei had ever saved the miko's life. 'Whether he had saved her life?' It was quite the reverse. Clearly the miko had never told her family he would have killed her that first day if he could have gotten through Genkai's barrier before Genkai explained the unusual situation. The boy seemed to like him, perhaps to even look up to him. What an odd family. At least the old man behaved as Hiei expected ningen to behave.

"Your daughter's life will not be threatened by me."

"Thank you, Hiei. I feel better meeting you and hearing that. It's nice to meet you."

Hiei just stared again at Mama Higurashi. He had never had someone say they were pleased to meet him. It gave him an odd feeling.

"Hn." He nodded and disappeared back into the forest.

Mama Higurashi just smiled and took another sip of her tea. She was used to taciturn youkai. Genkai gave her a wry look. It was no more than Genkai had expected. Hiei had learned more from the encounter than Mama Higurashi.

-- ------ --- - -

The next two weeks went by much like the first. She didn't have school scheduled on Saturday the next weekend so she went to Genkai's temple on Friday night. Kagome was helping Yukina make dinner Friday night by scrubbing and then slicing the daikon radish and other vegetables for the odon. She felt this was the least she could do to contribute since Genkai had refused to take money for her training or even to cover the cost of her meals while she was at the temple. Kagome thought back to the conversation she had had with Genkai during her first full weekend of training.

"I don't need your money, girl. I've plenty of that to supply my needs. What I need is for you to learn well so you don't waste my time or embarrass my training by doing poorly." Genkai told her. Privately Genkai thought Kagome was doing quite well but she certainly wasn't going to share that with her student.

"Yes, Genkai Sensei. I will work very hard." Kagome told her with a bow. "But shouldn't I at least give you money for your time, as well as money for the cost of the food for my stay here on the weekends?"

"No. I don't need it."

Kagome tried to insist that it was only appropriate. Finally Genkai took her outside and started pointing out landmarks. "Do you see that tree covered mountain to the north?"

"Yes."

"Do you see those ridges to the south, and have you been to the beach to the east?"

"Yes, of course," Kagome replied.

"All that land belongs to me. As far as the eye can see, the land belongs to me. I really don't need the money from your training," Genkai finished.

"All of it?" Kagome was shocked. It was a phenomenal, unreal amount of open land and forest sitting in the middle of modern Japan. She had assumed the majority of the property was owned by the Japanese government as a national forest.

"Yes, it belongs to me. I really don't need your money, girl. What I do need is for you to stop wasting time with useless talk and work harder on your barrier. It still has a pink tinge to it and you can only hold it for 5 minutes if you are under attack."

Kagome reminisced as she methodically sliced the vegetables. Suddenly she giggled. "You know, Yukina, Hiei would probably be able to slice and dice these vegetables in less than a minute."

Yukina laughed softly. "Yes, I am certain he could do that. I would prefer they be sliced in neat even slices, however, rather than chopped to bits. I am also quite certain that Genkai would be unhappy at the damage to her kitchen counters if he were to do such a thing."

"You're right, Yukina. Besides, now that I think about it, I wouldn't want to eat anything that had been cut with that sword. Who knows where it has been?"

They both laughed at Kagome's comment and then Yukina looked at her a bit sadly. "I have a few ideas," she said.

Kagome looked at Yukina and noticed she had a more serious look than Kagome had ever seen on her before. It was clear to Kagome that Yukina cared deeply for Hiei.

"You love Hiei, don't you?" Kagome said.

"Oh yes, I love him very much," Yukina replied.

"It's obvious that Hiei likes you also. He really has been painfully obvious in his determination to protect you from 'the dangerous miko.'" Kagome laughed and Yukina joined in. "But you don't think he wants you for a girlfriend?"

"No," Yukina said firmly. "Hiei kun does not like me in that way." She watched Kagome, who was hard at work on the vegetables and carefully not looking at Yukina. 'Is it possible _she_ likes Hiei?' Yukina wondered.

"Yukina, may I ask you something?" Kagome asked very politely with a small bow.

"Of course you may." Yukina replied.

"Is Hiei your brother?" Kagome watched her carefully.

Yukina gave a small sigh. "Yes, he is my brother."

Kagome nodded. "I was beginning to wonder. I really meant it when I said only a brother or a boyfriend would be quite so anxious and angry. I understand why neither of you mentioned it to me. Hiei is probably still worried 'the dangerous miko' might be a threat to his sister." She smiled at Yukina.

"Oh no, that's not the reason no one said anything. He doesn't know I know."

"Hiei doesn't know you're his sister?"

"He knows that. He just doesn't know that I know." She looked at Kagome, who was looking rather confused. Then Yukina remembered a phrase Keiko had used once. "It's complicated."

"He knows you're his sister. You know he's your brother, yet neither one of you have talked to the other about it? I don't understand."

"I didn't understand at first, either. He was one of the people who rescued me from this ningen who had taken me prisoner."

"You were taken prisoner? That's awful." Kagome frowned at the idea of the gentle koorime held prisoner. She had seen in the sengoku jidai just how terrible ningen could be to each other and to perfectly innocent youkai. She would never forget poor Jinenji.

"Yes, but Yusuke, Kazuma, Kurama and Hiei came and rescued me. My reason for coming to the Ningenkai was to look for my brother. Somehow I could always sense he was alive and that he wasn't too far away from me. After the dark tournament I went to live with Genkai. I noticed that Hiei came by often, and I could frequently sense his youki in the forest nearby. I asked Genkai how long Hiei had been staying with her and why didn't he stay in the temple itself. She looked very awkward."

"Genkai looked awkward? That's hard to imagine." Kagome smiled and Yukina smiled back.

"Yes, I know, but she did give me a strange look. Somehow it all made sense. My mother had told me my brother was a type of fire youkai. At first I thought Hiei might know something about my brother's type of youkai, or perhaps know my brother himself; but then I noticed that Hiei and I both had the same color eyes."

"Aren't there lots of youkai with red eyes?" Kagome asked?

"Not so many who have red eyes when they aren't in an attack form. Many youkai have red eyes when they have boosted their youki and are about to attack."

"Yes, I've met one or two of those myself," Kagome said with a small shudder.

"I had sensed my brother was not too far away, and one day I just knew in my heart he was my brother. So I asked Genkai about it. I thought that perhaps he didn't realize he had a twin sister." Yukina looked a little sad.

"What happened?"

"Genkai explained that Hiei knew perfectly well I was his sister. He just didn't want to tell me," Yukina said sadly.

"Did he know you were looking for your brother and wanted to find him?"

"He knew it. I made no secret of it. After I found out he was my brother I even made several comments to try to get him to admit he was my brother. Once Hiei told me something and I told him "that's the sort of thing I could expect to hear from a brother."

"Poor Hiei. He probably is worried inside that you won't like him or you won't want a brother who has been a thief and a murderer." Kagome looked very sad at the thought.

Yukina was astonished. "You're right. How did you understand that so quickly? It took me months to realize that. At first I thought that Hiei didn't want to acknowledge me because he's so strong and I'm weak. Fighting strength is what Hiei respects. I also knew he didn't like the Koorime youkai because the elders threw him off the island when he was a baby. They expected him to die. I thought he was ashamed of me or hated me because I was Koorime and didn't want to admit we were related."

"Oh no, Hiei couldn't possibly think that," Kagome said earnestly. You're very strong and courageous. Look at how you came by yourself to the Ningenkai to look for him in the first place. Beside, you are an incredible healer. Your ability is simply amazing. How could anyone be anything but proud and honored to have you for a sister?"

Yukina blushed. "Thank you. Your words are most kind," Yukina said with a small bow. "I do not think my healing powers are amazing but I have also concluded that Hiei is not ashamed of me. Genkai and I have discussed the matter. She explained Hiei never spent a moment at her temple or the forest nearby until I came to live here." She shrugged. "We think he is here to protect me. Genkai thinks he is here because he wants to be near his sister without admitting it. She also thinks Hiei has some thought that he isn't good enough for me and that I wouldn't want or be happy to have a brother who had done some of the things he has done." She looked carefully at Kagome. "Hiei really has killed a lot of youkai and many of them were killed for no better reason than he enjoyed it and he enticed them to try to steal his hiroseki stone. "

"I understand," Kagome said sadly. "He never had a family growing up and killing at least gave him a sense of control. He had to try to fill his life with something. After all, a feeling a power is probably better than emptiness. Poor Hiei, he never had anyone love him or hug him as child, did he?"

"I do not think so. When he stole the artifacts with Kurama and was caught by Yusuke he had been planning to take over the Ningenkai and turn everyone into demon zombies."

Kagome laughed. "I haven't known Hiei long but I have to agree with Kurama. I simply can not picture Hiei being happy with a bunch of brainless idiots to control. He would have needed to tell them what to do every second of the day. He doesn't seem like the type to suffer fools gladly. He really would have been bored senseless in a day or two."

Yukina laughed and nodded. The two of them finished making dinner companionably.

-- ---- ----

After the third weekend she spent training with Genkai, her barrier was invisible, or nearly so. Hiei would attack her when she was alone and occasionally when she was with other people. They had an unspoken agreement that these public attacks would be "fly bys." Hiei would approach so fast he was invisible to the normal human eye. If she didn't get a barrier up, then he would scrape her across her neck. Kagome would hear "you lose miko" whisper softly in her ear. Or was it her ear? It sounded clearly like Hiei to her, but she always wondered why none of her friends commented about it. Could she be hearing it in her mind?

The scratch was enough to hurt, but not enough to make her bleed heavily or to knock her down. It was almost as though he used the scratch across the neck as a way to keep score, but not to actually hurt her. If she got the barrier up in time, then she didn't get scratched and he vanished. He didn't attack her again to force her to maintain the barrier in front of her friends. Her friends and others around her started to comment about the unusual winds they were having for this time of year. Kagome just nodded and said nothing.

Hiei still attacked her and forced her to defend herself when she was alone or with her family. She could hold the barrier for over 8 minutes now, and she was pleased with her progress in just a couple of weeks. On the way back from school one Wednesday, he didn't leave after attacking her, but walked next to her the rest of the way home. Neither one of them said much but Kagome stayed alert because she assumed he was waiting to attack her. At the bottom of the stairs Hiei glanced at her sideways and then disappeared. He didn't return that night to attack her or her family.

On Thursday after his usual "after school attack" he followed her home again. He still didn't say much, and Kagome just talked about school, or Genkai's training.

"I thought collecting the shards was difficult, but nothing is as tough as Genkai Sensei's training program," Kagome complained lightly. "I know it is good for me, and I'm learning a lot but I'm exhausted after just a day and a half a week."

"Yusuke often complained loudly in great detail and foul language about her training. Jin and Touya both said she was worse than the shinobi," Hiei said.

"I can believe it."

"I have watched her training them. Your physical training is nothing in comparison."

"Nothing?" Kagome said in outrage.

"Nothing," Hiei repeated firmly. "If one of them had stopped to talk to Kurama, she would have thrown him into the side of a mountain."

"Ouch…" Kagome winced.

"Hn. Do not forget it. This 'training' of yours is light. It is nothing. You can not even attack without a bow and arrow. If you want to really improve, you will need to be much more serious." With that parting statement, Hiei left.

On Friday Hiei continued up the stairs with her. Neither of them noticed until Kagome broke off what she was telling him and stared up the stairs. They could both sense youki at the shrine. Hiei didn't recognize whose youki it was. Suddenly, they could hear Souta complaining loudly.

"Ouch. That hurts. Let me go. I have practice and I don't have time today to play the victim for you and Kagome. Ack. Stop it! You're strangling me."

Kagome turned to Hiei, who was looking towards the top of the stairs. "Hiei, tell me that's a friend of yours you got involved in this. Please tell me that."

"No." Without another word Hiei drew his sword and raced up the remaining stairs. Kagome ran after him.

Hiei was already facing the unknown youkai by the time Kagome got up there. Souta was being held around his chest and by the neck by a humanoid youkai. He had short black hair and yellow eyes. Hiei could tell he was very powerful, but not nearly as powerful as himself. Then again, he had the boy.

"Release the ningen boy now, and you _may_ get to live," Hiei demanded.

Souta looked worried at that statement. "Onee san, please tell me this is a friend of yours. He is just one of the youkai training you, right? Right?"

The unknown youkai grinned. "I'm the youkai who is going to kill you, boy."

"Let my brother go." Kagome shouted. Her fists were clenched and her aura flared about her. Souta got really scared when he heard that.

"Onee san…"

"Release the ningen unharmed!"

"Release my brother!"

"Come into my grasp miko, and I will release your brother to take you." He grinned and licked his lips.

"Unacceptable. Release the ningen now and your death will be swift and painless. Harm him in any way and, well, Kurama's death plant is always looking for a good meal. You will beg me to feed you to it to escape the writhing pain before I am through with you." Hiei's youki was flaring also, and flames covered parts of his body. Hiei could sense the intensity of Kagome's spiritual energy increasing, but he knew it couldn't be focused without an arrow.

"LET MY BROTHER GO."

The youkai ignored her and kept his attention on Hiei. "You may still be Koenma's lapdog in many ways, but he can't fault you for failing to protect every ningen in the ningenkai. What do you care if I kill the boy? You are just playing with them for your own amusement."

"Hn," Hiei sneered, "and I am SO well known for allowing others to touch my possessions." He reached out his free hand and twirled the chain holding his hiroseki stone. The youkai started to look a bit doubtful.

"Fine. I will take the boy with me and then release him at the edge of the Makai."

"NO!" Kagome flared.

"Miko, flare all you want. You are harmless for all your power. I've heard you can't hurt me without a bow and arrow and you have none," he laughed and clutched Souta tighter about the neck. Hiei tensed to attack him in the hopes he could kill the youkai before the youkai could kill Souta, and then get the boy to Yukina if he needed to be healed.

"I am NOT WEAK. LET HIM GO NOW!" Energy flared out of Kagome's arms and enveloped Souta and the youkai holding him. Souta's hair flew all directions in the wind she created; the same wind which blew the dust of the youkai into the air. He had had no time to do anything other than shriek before he was purified into nothingness.

Souta sagged to his knees. Kagome raced up to him, fell to her knees and hugged him thankfully. Hiei was relieved the miko was concentrating on her brother as it gave him time to recover from the shock of what she had done. She had purified an upper B class or possibly a lower A class youkai with no bow and arrow and literally without thought or apparent difficulty. Who was this onna? What would she be capable of when she was fully trained? It boggled the mind.

*Kurama. The miko…*

{What is it, Hiei? Is Kagome injured?}

*No. She is powerful.*

{We already knew that.}

*No, fox. She is _powerful_. She just purified an upper B class youkai without effort.* Hiei opened his immediate memories to the fox and let him experience them. Kurama and Youko were both silent. Finally, Youko spoke.

[I have never heard of a miko in any century who could do such a thing without a bow. She is truly amazing.]

{I agree. You should be sure and tell Genkai about it on Saturday.}

*Hn* Hiei said before shutting down the link.

That night Hiei stayed near the shrine, and rested in the goshinbuko. Kagome kept her family inside and worried about the attack by the strange youkai. Was it random? It didn't seem so. He had specifically mentioned hearing of her. Kagome was worried. Was her family at risk? It made her feel better to know that Hiei was around. She knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her family while he could prevent it. He really is like Inuyasha, she thought. He had a difficult childhood, but he seems very loyal to his friends. I wonder if he considers me a friend?

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Evil RULZ – thank you so much for being a regular reviewer. I really appreciate it. Yes, Youko has a bit of a one track mind. I've succumbed to the fanon concept of Youko that way.

Lovelywitch: Yes, the bats were all new. There is a lot new in this chapter also. I hope people think it expands the story rather than just expanding it. i.e. I hope you like it.

Merlyn 1382: Yes, Kagome certainly has fire. She is a character who says exactly what she means and stands up for what she believes in. Thanks for the review.

ShinkanNeko: To be honest, if you think the first part of the fic is 'rushed,' you will probably think the rest of it is also. However, despite that, I hope you enjoy it for what it is. It's curious you think it needs more dialogue since some people think there is SO much dialogue I should be writing a play rather than a short story. At any rate, I hope you read and enjoy it. Thanks for the review.

Yue No Rei: It's true I succumbed to the Youko fanon of being both distinct from Suuichi and a sex maniac, but I hadn't thought he had done much obnoxious yet. I do see him as an elegant being. I'll see what I can do to try to bring that out a bit more.

Ice vixen x: thanks. I don't intend to stop it here. They still have to get together and settle their differences. I appreciate any review you leave for me.


	6. Kagome Attacks

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no ownership interest in Inuyasha or any of the characters in this fanfic. Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Yu Yu Hakusho is owned by Togashi and to whichever companies they have sold or licensed the rights. I make no money from this fanfic and appreciate Ms. Takahashi's and Mr. Togashi's willingness to overlook my playing in their universes.

Hmm. Time marches on; So much for my plan to post a chapter every week. Sorry about that.

To Everyone on FanFic: I figured out my profile was barring reviews from people who weren't logged in. It has been fixed so now anyone can post a review. Hooray.

This chapter has been revised to correct a [there/their] conflict and also to improve some awkward paragraph and sentence structure towards the end of it.

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*Kurama. The miko…*

{What is it, Hiei? Is Kagome injured?}

*No. She is powerful.*

{We already knew that.}

*No, fox. She is _powerful_. She just purified an upper B class youkai without effort.* Hiei opened his immediate memories to the fox and let him experience them. Kurama and Youko were both silent. Finally, Youko spoke.

[I have never heard of a miko in any century who could do such a thing without a bow. She is truly amazing.]

{I agree. You should be sure and tell Genkai about it on Saturday.}

*Hn* Hiei said before shutting down the link.

---------- -----------

The following weekend, Genkai, Kurama and Yukina heard about the purification in more detail and they all were equally surprised. It usually took a great deal of training for a miko to be able to attack without a bow and arrow, and Genkai had never heard of one who could literally purify an upper B class like that: stop him, injure him, burn him? Yes. Flat out purify him into nothingness in a couple of seconds? No. She was more and more intrigued with Higurashi's granddaughter.

Kagome was trying to explain herself. "He was going to kill Souta. I had to do something. This isn't the first time I've been able to attack without using a bow and arrow."

Hiei stared at her. "You said you could not do it."

"Well, not usually, but there were certain times. For instance, the very first time Mistress Centipede dragged me down the well, I instinctively used my miko powers to get away from her. Then there was the time early on in the fight against Naraku I almost purified him." Kagome shrugged her shoulders.

Kurama raised his eyebrows. "From all you have told us about the hanyou, he sounds like he was definitely an S class or upper S class demon. Yet you almost purified him into nothingness?"

"Yes. I think I would have done it if I hadn't been scared about killing a being. I killed Jura of the hair by stabbing the red skull with an arrow which channeled some of my miko powers. I really wasn't thinking at the moment except I wanted to survive. With Naraku I was facing a living being and had to shoot him directly with the arrow. As I said before, it was early on, and somewhere in the back of my mind I couldn't really kill a sentient being." Then she looked sadly down. "Unfortunately, I had to get over that if I wanted to live."

Kurama smiled gently at her. "You have no idea how beautiful and rare a creature you are. To have the power to purify an S class demon… it is unheard of in the Makai."

Hiei frowned. "It is not 'unheard of in the Makai.' Someone already heard of the miko and where she lives."

"I agree," Kurama said. "It is definitely a concern."

"Miko," Hiei started.

"Youkai," Kagome flared. "How many times do I have to tell you my name is Kagome? Ka Go Me."

"Onna, your barrier fell quickly the first day. I would have killed you had the old woman not prevented it. You were bluffing when you threatened to purify me but your body would have instinctively reacted to save your life. Even if you couldn't kill me, you could have purified and injured me."

Kagome looked sheepish. "It's possible. I'm sorry."

"NEVER apologize for strength, onna," Hiei said fiercely. He stared at her for a moment before disappearing into the trees.

---- ---

Kagome didn't see Hiei for the rest of the weekend, but he attacked her bright and early Monday morning on her way to school. He gave her a good scrape before disappearing. Kagome was ready for him when she was coming home from school. When he attacked her she didn't raise her barrier. Instead she reached out and stabbed him with a pencil infused with miko energy. He jumped back in shock and some pain.

"Miko, you have no bow."

"No, but I do have an arrow of sorts." She held up the sharp wooden pencil. "The best part is it's a pencil. I can carry them everywhere with me and no regular human will question it. See?" She jumped towards him with the pencil flaring with energy. Hiei jumped back to avoid it and Kagome laughed. "I win youkai."

"Hn." Hiei glared at her as he remembered Kuwabara using something similar before he was able to generate a sword out of nothingness.

"Oh, come on Hiei, don't be grumpy. Walk with me on the way home. I want to get home quickly to make sure no youkai have attacked my family." He eyed her as she smiled at him.

-----

A month later everyone was firmly in a pattern. Hiei and Kagome would attack each other to and from Kagome's school, and sometimes when she was outside at lunch or at gym. Kagome discovered she enjoyed wandering away from her friends at lunch and during physical education to entice Hiei to attack her. In PE she became skilled in hiding the pencil even in those tiny gym shorts so Hiei would think she was limited to defense and couldn't attack him. Sometimes he would attack and sometimes he wouldn't. When he didn't attack Kagome assumed he had gone off to do whatever it was he did with his time before Genkai suggested the game of "attack the miko."

He would always attack her on the way home, and then walk with her the rest of the way to the shrine. Neither one of them noticed Hiei's attacks started to come almost the moment she left her friends, and that the two of them spent more time walking home and less time waiting to attack or be attacked. Kagome found herself making excuses for leaving her friends at the edge of the school and not joining them at WacDonalds for a soda. He was always angry if something kept her at school.

"Onna, you are late."

"What, I'm late for my opportunity to be attacked? Gee, that's just terrible." Kagome huffed at him. "How I dare I get a detention and have to stay over so I couldn't show up on time for the chance to be attacked by a grumpy fire youkai? What was I thinking?"

Hiei gave her a dirty look and kept walking towards the shrine. She told him about getting caught daydreaming by a very strict teacher and having to stay after school for an hour. When they were almost to the shrine steps Hiei turned to her and threw a ball of energy at her without warning. Kagome went down.

"You lose, miko," He smirked. Kagome stayed on the ground and glared at him.

"Thank you SO much for putting the perfect ending to a perfect day. I suggest you don't try that again today or I really will purify you. I'm in the mood to kill something." She got to her feet and stomped up the stairs. Hiei watched her go but didn't try to follow her. He had a strange, thoughtful look on his face. He realized he was disappointed she hadn't tried to attack him back and was disappointed she clearly wanted nothing more to do with him that day.

"Hn. I have more important things to do anyway," he said to himself before taking off.

--- ------

Hiei realized Kagome didn't hold grudges when she was her usual cheerful self the next morning. She tried to get him with her pencil arrow but he was ready for it and jumped back before she could reach him.

"Darn it, I missed. Good morning, Hiei." Kagome smiled at him. "Come closer and let me try again."

Hiei wisely stayed out of her reach. Later that day after he attacked her in afternoon, he started to walk home with her as he had done in the past. She stayed several feet away from him and her aura was active and probing. She didn't say much. He moved closer to her. Kagome jumped a little and moved several feet away from him. He eyed her.

"Fool me once, Hiei, and so forth. I'm not going to get within hitting range again." She smiled but was clearly keeping her guard up.

Hiei realized he didn't like the silence. He wanted to hear the stories of what she had done in the feudal era. He didn't like this fear and caution. He didn't sense active fear, but she was so busy guarding herself and waiting for him to attack she wasn't talking to him.

"Miko, I will not attack you again when you are talking to me. It was. . . less than honorable." He looked at her and then looked away.

Kagome was amazed. Somehow Hiei didn't seem like the type to apologize for anything. "Thank you, Hiei. I appreciate it."

They continued towards the shrine and Kagome found herself telling him some of her adventures in more detail.

"She was really sweet. She had lavender eyes and snow white hair. Her grandfather didn't care anything about her. He hated and resented her. Of course, what would you expect from a being who was capable of killing his own son simply because he mated with someone of whom he didn't approve. He just wanted her because she could make barriers are well as her father could," Kagome said. "I don't know how old she was, but she didn't seem very old to me. She was perhaps 7 or 8 at the most. Those horrible humans offered Shiori up to her grandfather as though she was some sort of sacrifice. It was really awful to hear about it. I felt so sorry for her. Bat youkai are strong, but their bones are thin so they can fly. Shiori always seemed so delicate to me, even more so than a full human's bones."

"You said the hanyou had to kill her," Hiei pointed out.

"No, I said Myouga told him he had to kill the maker of the barriers."

"This bat hanyou _was_ the maker of the barrier," Hiei pointed out.

"Yes, but of course Inuyasha didn't kill her. She was just a child and a hanyou as well. Inuyasha would _never_ have hurt a hanyou child. He protected her with everything he had when the bat clan came to attack the human village. Hiei?" Kagome continued softly. "Would you really kill an innocent child to become stronger?" There was a moments silence while they eyed each other. Hiei then scowled and looked away.

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a no." Kagome could tell from his attitude and body language he would not have hurt the bat hanyou, but he clearly didn't want to admit it.

"Inuyasha couldn't kill her either. He did get the barrier for Tessaiga. All he needed to do was to slice the weird globe she was holding. That was the equivalent of the maker of the barrier. Oh, and then there was the time we met Jinenji. He was another hanyou Inuyasha helped to protect. The ningen near his home decided he was responsible for killing them when he'd been there for years and never done a thing to them. I had to stop this mob from hurting Jinenji."

"You stood in front of a mob of ningen who wanted to kill some hanyou?"

"Of course, I couldn't let them hurt Jinenji. He was so gentle and kind."

"Onna, do you have any instinct for self preservation?" Hiei demanded?

"Ha. Of course I do. I just talked to them and got them to see reason," Kagome said. Hiei snorted at the idea of any mob of ningen or youkai being capable of seeing reason. "It was really just a matter of keeping them calm until Inuyasha got there. Inuyasha killed some snake like youkai who was breeding who was really behind the deaths." She shuddered.

"You talk about that male too much. You talk about males too much: Inuyasha, Kouga, Miroku, some boar youkai, and some Ningen named Houjo. Were there no females other than the Taijiya and the old miko back then? Who is this Jinenji you mention?" Hiei demanded.

"Oh Jinenji is a lovely person. He is sweet and gentle. He grows herbs and plants." Then Kagome stopped and laughed a little. I guess it is more accurate to say he _grew_ herbs and plants. It was all 500 years ago." She looked a little sad.

"Was he yet another male who tried to take you?" Hiei wanted to know. Hiei and Kagome were sitting on the bench in front of the Goshinboku.

"Oh no, Jinenji was a horse youkai hanyou. He was gentle and kind, but the human and horse youkai didn't mix very well, and poor Jinenji looked very different from both humans and youkai. The humans chased him and tried to hurt him all the time. I'm sure he wouldn't have survived to adulthood if his mother hadn't been strong and able to protect him. She didn't seem strong physically, but she sure could out talk most anyone who came to threaten them." Kagome laughed reminiscently. "When I first met her I thought _she_ was the youkai parent. I thought she was some kind of old youkai witch."

"Kagome, would you and Hiei like some ice tea. It's very warm out here." Hiei and Kagome turned around to find Mama nearby. She carried two glasses of ice tea on a tray. Hiei leapt to his feet. He stared at Mama and then at Kagome. He vanished without saying a word. Kagome watched him go, sighed and looked at Mama.

"Mama, did you do that on purpose?" She wanted to know.

Mama sighed and sat down next to her daughter on the bench. She handed Kagome a glass of ice tea and took the other one herself. "No, sweetheart; I'm sorry. I saw the two of you from the kitchen window. You were sitting on the bench and didn't seem to be attacking each other. It is such a hot day and I thought some cool tea might be nice. I didn't mean to scare him off. I'm sorry, dear."

Kagome just nodded and took a sip of her tea. Then she laughed softly. "Hiei wouldn't appreciate someone thinking he was scared off by anyone, much less a ningen. He's so gruff but it's really because he's had such a hard life. He was probably embarrassed he was caught talking amicably with 'the miko.'"

Mama looked at her sharply. "Kagome, don't forget this youkai is _not_ Inuyasha. I don't want to see you get hurt," Mama said. Both Kagome and Mama knew she was not talking about a physical injury. The last thing Mama wanted was for Kagome to finally open up to another boy only to choose one who could never care for her.

"I know, Mama." Kagome said softly.

----

Kagome continued to spend every Saturday and Sunday with Genkai. Her barriers were clear now, and she was getting very good with her "pencil attacks." She started carrying a special case which held about 5 sharpened pencils in it. Since Kagome had targets at the shrine, Genkai expected her to practice her bow during the school week. Genkai tested her bow and arrow skills on the weekends to make sure they were still good. She also made Kagome practice 'throwing' her holy energy to develop her long distance attacks. Kagome needed to be able to do it at will, and not 'at panic point.' Genkai pointed out the pencils were a good weapon of last resort acceptable throughout the Ningenkai, but by the time the youkai was that close, he or she could attack her with a sword or their claws. Everyone agreed the reach of a sword was further than a pencil.

"It is the pen which is mightier than the sword," Genkai pointed out, "not the pencil."

---- ----

Early on a Tuesday evening about two weeks later Kagome came out to the Goshinboku. She was carrying a plate and stopped at the base of the tree to look up at Hiei. Often times she wondered why a tree which was such a spiritual tree was also so attractive to youkai. They did seem to enjoy sitting in it, she thought.

"Hiei, would you come down here? I have something for you."

"Is it wooden and sharp?"

"No Hiei. It's something nice; at least I think it is nice. It's carrot cake."

Hiei stared down at her. He could smell it was food. He decided to jump down. He maintained caution just in case she was using the food as an excuse to get him closer so she could try out some new attack.

"Carrot cake?" Hiei asked. Kagome nodded in agreement.

"Cake is sweet, Miko."

"Yes it is sweet, youkai."

"Carrot is a vegetable." Hiei continued. Kagome nodded again.

"I know it sounds strange but I really like it and Mama makes it every year for my birthday."

Hiei looked dubious. Then he frowned. "Today is your birthday?"

"That's right. I'm 18 years old. I'm not considered an adult in Japan but am in most parts of the world. Mama and I are already thinking about the traditional celebration for my 20th birthday even though it's still two years away. We had a special dinner tonight. Mama always makes carrot cake for my birthday."

Hiei eyed the square on the plate skeptically. It was a dark brown multicolor square with orange highlights and an ivory topping. It didn't smell bad but it did look a little odd to him. Kagome handed him the plate and the fork.

"You should give it a try. Mama's been making this for me since I was 8 years old. When I was about 5, an American couple moved in next door for several years. I used to play with their children and their mother made them carrot cake. It's really good. Carrots are sweet so it isn't as weird as it sounds. When I turned 6 I apparently demanded carrot cake for my birthday. Mrs. Johnstone made it for me and then made it for my 7th birthday as well. Shortly before my 8th birthday the Johnstones moved back to the United States, but before they went Mrs. Johnstone gave Mama the recipe and left the cake flour she used to make it. Mama has been making it for ever since. It is a Higurashi tradition. At first Mama had trouble figuring out the right kind of flour to use and getting the spices and cream cheese needed for the icing, but now it's all readily available on the internet. So go on, Hiei; give it a try."

Hiei looked again at the plate and then at the fork. Kagome noticed this and waved her arms in apology. "I'm so sorry, Hiei. It's a fork. You use it to eat the cake."

"A fork?" He eyed it and then stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, it's a fork. It's a western eating utensil. It is easier to eat cake with one than trying to use chopsticks. You hold it like this and cut off a bite of cake. It's easy." Kagome took the fork from Hiei and demonstrated how she held it to cut the cake. Then she gave it back to him and nodded encouragingly. Hiei looked at the tool again.

"A fork; I see." Hiei growled and his eyes flashed at her. "I thought perhaps it was an ugly comb for an onna's hair." Hiei used the fork to bite off a piece of cake and ate it. He eyed Kagome through narrow red eyes. It didn't take much for Kagome to see the sarcasm in his comment dripping off the words and pooling in a small puddle on the ground.

"Ah, sorry," Kagome mumbled. "I guess you already know what a fork is for, don't you?"

"Of course," Hiei said scornfully. He took another bite of cake. "Or perhaps you think all I eat is my prey's heart, ripped out of its chest and chewed bloody and beating." His tone was scathing. Suddenly he smirked. "Of course, I have eaten that more than a time or two."

"Ah, no," Kagome said in a very small voice. She stared at her feet and muttered something involving the word 'chopsticks.'

"Do you think Japan is the only ningen country youkai know?"

"Uh, yes?" Kagome replied, even though she could now tell it wasn't the right answer.

"Clearly you have never met Jin or Chuu. You ignorant miko, the Makai is an entire world. There are layers of dimensions the Reikai can't even approach. The border in Japan may be a major one, but it is hardly the only point of contact. What is known in the Ningenkai is known in the Makai. I have used a fork and a spoon. I have used a knife at table for something other than skewering my enemies." He continued eating the cake.

"I'm sorry, really, really sorry." Kagome felt like an idiotic for thinking he wouldn't recognize a fork. Her face was bright red and wondered if she would ever stop being embarrassed over this situation.

"Onna, your mother fixes this cake to mark each year. Despite your time in the sengoku jidai and complete lack of self preservation, you somehow managed to survive for 18 years." Hiei said. Kagome frowned at his way of putting it but wisely chose to say nothing. She just nodded.

Hiei had finished the cake and set the plate and fork down on the ground. He moved in very close to her and stared silently until she looked up at him. He reached out with a hand and grabbed her by the chin. Kagome fidgeted but he didn't seem threatening. She tried to take a step back but he moved his other hand to the nape of her neck to hold her in place. She felt odd and uncomfortable but couldn't figure out why. It suddenly seemed warm in the early evening. Hiei was very close.

"You are merely 18 years old, onna. Youkai do not age as ningen do. I am many times older than you; many, many times older. Do not forget it. I have done and experienced far more things in my lifetime than you can imagine." He made a low growl of disgust. "A fork is the least of them." He eyed her for a moment before disappearing into the night.

Kagome paused and stared in the direction Hiei had gone before she picked up the plate and fork and walked slowly into the house.

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Next time: Kagome enjoys some eye candy when Hiei and Kurama spar at Genkai's temple.

Thank you SO MUCH to all of my reviewers. I really appreciate it and should be able to respond to everyone in a few days.


	7. Who Told You, Miko?

I don't own any part of Inyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. I make no money from this fic.

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Let's see; you were promised eye candy. I didn't lie; I was just mistaken -g-

A few scenes have intervened between this chapter and the promised eye candy. My fic keeps expanding. The original story was 22,000 or so words as Mediaminer counts them. The previous 6 chapters total over 39,000 and there's a lot more to go. What can I say? It grew. LOL.

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"Youkai do not age as ningen do. I am many times older than you; many, many times older. Do not forget it. I have done and experienced far more things in my lifetime than you can imagine." He eyed her for a moment before disappearing into the night.

- --- --

It took several days for Kagome to recover from her embarrassment of the birthday cake. By unspoken agreement Kagome and Hiei ignored the entire incident. She went over the conversation word by word in her mind multiple times. She especially thought about the moment when he held her face. She had been so mesmerized by the glow in his ruby eyes she could barely remember his words but she knew it had something to do with his age. 'As if that had anything to do with anything,' Kagome thought. Inuyasha was over 200 years old when she knew him and he acted like he was about 12 most of the time. 'Even if you subtract the time he was pinned to the tree, he was still over 150 years old. Youkai may not age like ningen, but they sure seem to stay children forever,' Kagome thought. She did realize, however, that Hiei wasn't emotionally immature as Inuyasha had been.

Hiei continued walking home from school with her. They developed the habit of sitting on the bench in front of the Goshinboku and talking about various things. At first the time was filled mostly Kagome telling Hiei about her adventures in the Sengoku Jidai, but slowly Hiei mentioned some things he had done. She noticed that everything he talked about, such as the Dark Tournament or Sensui's machinations, took place after he had met the other members of the spirit detectives. Hiei told her nothing about his life before he decided to break into the Reikai vaults. Kagome didn't press him for details.

It was the Sensui incident which made Kagome realize there was much more to Hiei than he admitted. He really was a loyal friend. He hadn't been obligated by the Reikai to help save the Ningenkai from the schizophrenic ex spirit detective. Indeed, in some ways bringing down the barrier would have accomplished much of what Hiei had wanted to accomplish when he stole the sword. Instead, he saved Yusuke's life from the Marksman and then helped to kill a couple of early youkai arrivals.

It was Hiei's reaction to Yusuke dying, though, that really got to Kagome. Hiei hadn't said he was seeking revenge against Sensui. He hadn't said he was protecting the Ningenkai in any way. He made it sound as though he just followed along with Kuwabara and Kurama because they were chasing Sensui and he had nothing better to do. Kagome knew better. Hiei had risked his life in an almost hopeless attempt to avenge his friend's murder. If Yusuke hadn't shown up alive and conveniently transformed into a Mazoku, Hiei would probably have died.

In addition to talking with her, Hiei offered to help her with her bow by becoming a moving target. On some days she would try to shoot him with a quiver of arrows before they sat down near the tree.

"But what if I actually hit you?" Kagome had been worried when he first suggested she aim at him. "I should throw miko energy into the arrow and if I hit you, then you might get hurt."

"Hn. If I can't even move faster than an onna's arrow, I deserve to die."

Kagome laughed, but nevertheless she was careful at first. As she practiced more she realized just how fast he really was and then it became a new game between the two of them. She would aim, fire and try to string another arrow before he could reach her from a distance. She always had to throw up her barrier to prevent him from hitting her.

"I can't believe it, Hiei. You are incredibly fast. I can barely see you moving. I have to sense you to throw up my barrier," Kagome said. Hiei preened subtly at the compliment.

"You need to practice attacking without the bow. Now concentrate." Hiei stood about 10 yards away from her. Kagome concentrated. Nothing happened.

"Concentrate onna," Hiei demanded.

"My name IS NOT Onna! It's Kagome. Ka Go Me. Get it through your thick youkai skull." Her aura started to flare up.

Hiei smirked at her. "I shall call you whatever I choose, onna. You can't stop me, ningen." He pulled out his sword. Kagome started to reach for her bow and Hiei flashed by and grabbed it out of her hands. He dropped it behind a tree and then stood between her and the bow.

"You can't defend yourself from me. You _will _bleed if you don't stop me, oh… na." Hiei ran towards her, but slowly enough he was still visible. Kagome threw up her barrier and Hiei attacked it. "This won't stop me, onna. You will be cut when I get through here." Hiei let his youki rise and he felt Kagome's miko energy rise around her. He attacked the barrier for over 10 minutes. "I am stronger than you. I can outlast your barrier."

Suddenly the barrier vanished, but just as Hiei was about to move forward, miko energy flared out from Kagome's hands and knocked him against the tree. He gasped and collapsed. That hurt. It hurt a lot.

"Hiei, are you alright? I'm so sorry." Kagome ran to him and dropped down beside him. She lifted his head onto her knee. "I knew it. I knew I shouldn't try to hit you with my miko powers. I'm sorry."

"Would you apologize for surviving? I am not injured. Anger helps you concentrate." He smirked at her. Kagome gave him a look and huffed a little.

"I knew what you were doing, you know. I could tell you were just making me mad."

"It worked. You attacked but your aura wasn't as high as when you protected your brother."

"You could have been killed if I had lost control."

"Never. I am not as weak as that coward who attacked your brother."

"Well then, you've no need for a cushion." With that Kagome picked his head up off her knee and dropped it back on the ground. She stood up. "Shall we try again? I think I'm getting the hang of this game of 'attack the youkai.'"

They fought again and this time Hiei got through her barrier to slice her with his sword. The pain caused her energy to flare and she hit him again with her powers. This time she didn't chase after him but stopped to try to stop the flow of blood. Hiei got up to see how badly he had cut her. It just looked like a scratch to him but it was bleeding significantly and he knew Ningen were weaker than youkai. They couldn't take the same loss of blood.

"Oh dear, this looks worse than it is. My mother will definitely notice. I don't suppose you have the same healing powers as your sister, do you?" Kagome asked absent mindedly as she tried to stop the blood dripping from her arm.

Dead silence greeted this statement. Kagome looked up to find Hiei staring at her in shock and anger. She thought back and suddenly realized what she had said. She went ice cold.

"Ano…" Kagome floundered.

"WHO told you that, MIKO?" Hiei demanded in a voice far angrier than any she had heard since the first day. "Who told you Yukina was my sister? Who will die today?" Flames curled around his legs and arms.

"Ano… no one did; That is, you just did. What makes you think I meant Yukina?"

"Don't lie to me, miko. Someone had to tell you. Was it the old woman or Kurama? It had to be one of them. They're the only ones who could have told you." Hiei demanded. He had Kagome by the shoulder and chin again. This time there was nothing warm or comfortable about it. He was glaring with real anger. Kagome said nothing.

"I said 'who told you?'" Hiei pushed her against the tree. Her bleeding arm was forgotten.

"I… I…"

"WHO?" Hiei's youki rose. His skin was starting to turn a faint greenish color and claws were digging into her neck. The Jagan eye was glowing behind its ward as it responded to Hiei's desire to probe Kagome's mind. His youki kept rising and Kagome's miko aura rose to meet the impending threat. "I demand to…"

Suddenly Kagome flared out with barrier energy and pushed him off her. He skidded to ground but leapt up immediately to stand before her with his fists clenched and glowing with flames. She kept her barrier up between them.

"Stop it you idiot." Kagome lost her temper. "No one told me; at least not the way you're thinking. No one told me your deep dark secret you think is so important to hide. I figured it out myself." She glared at him and Hiei growled back. "Yes I did. If you must know, it was Yukina who confirmed it."

"That's impossible. Then who told Yukina?" Hiei was beyond pissed, but so was Kagome.

"NO ONE told her, you moron. Do you think she is such an idiot she couldn't figure it out? You both have the same eyes; you are similar in height; you are a fire demon and Yukina was told by her mother that her lover was some type of fire demon. Then you spend all that time hovering about Genkai's temple when you didn't stay there at all before. Honestly, it didn't take a rocket scientist. You seem fairly bright when you aren't acting like an idiot. Do you really think your sister is that dumb when she's your twin? I've spoken with Genkai and Yukina. I know she was naïve when she first came from the Koorime Island but she was never stupid. Plus many twins have a sense about each other and Yukina told me she knew at the Dark Tournament that her brother was close by. You really give her no credit whatsoever."

"Why do you think Yukina gave you her hiroseki stone? Why do you think Yukina said "that's the sort of advice I could expect to get from a brother? Kami Sama, why do you think she has stayed at Genkai's temple for as long as she has anyway? She is staying to be near you. She is trying to encourage you to tell her. She loves you very much and doesn't want to confront you with it before you are ready. Enough's enough. She knows you're her brother. She loves you. She wants to be your sister. Go talk to her and leave me alone." Kagome's anger was burning itself out. It left fatigue and discouragement behind. "I thought we were friends Hiei; at least sort of friends. I'm tired. You should just go.

Hiei didn't say a word. His youki had come down during Kagome's tirade. He looked at her for a long moment and then vanished. Kagome sighed and went to pick up her bow from behind the tree.

After the huge fight, it was anticlimactic to find out Mama had gone to visit a friend and would be home late. Kagome got to her room, took a shower and bandaged her wound without any of her family being the wiser.

. .

. .

Kagome didn't see Hiei at all the next day. She walked to and from school and didn't get attacked once. None of her family were attacked during the evening. The day after that Kagome took special care to walk away to a secluded spot during lunch and stayed there for most of the lunch period. There was no wind and no fire youkai flashing by to say "you lose miko." On the third day she agreed to go to WacDonalds after school for a soda. It didn't seem likely there would be a fire youkai waiting to get angry over her being late.

"Kagome, what's wrong? You finally come with us after school and all you do is sigh in your soda. Is it boy trouble?" Eri always did insist on knowing what was going on in Kagome's life. At least, she thought she knew what was going on in her life.

"You can call him many things, but 'boy' isn't one of them," Kagome said without thinking. Her mind was consumed by the irritable fire youkai. Time and again she cursed herself for letting her knowledge of Yukina slip. She cursed herself for losing her temper. It seemed he really didn't want anything to do with her. Why else would he not have attacked her for three days? Suddenly she had another thought. 'Had he been so upset that Yukina knew about her brother he left the Ningenkai altogether?' What a horrible thought. If that was true she would never forgive herself for causing Hiei and Yukina's separation.

"Eh? It IS a boy. Tell us everything," Eri demanded.

"Yes, tell all." Yuka agreed. Ayumi just looked at Kagome expectantly.

"Oh, it's nothing. It is just this boy who is giving me trouble. Well, really he is a man who was helping me with the training I told you about at the temple."

"I think it is so wonderful you are training to be a miko. You can take over some of the temple duties," Ayumi said.

Kagome had told them about the training, at least in theory. She had had to give them some reason for never doing anything on the weekends. She made it sound as though she was taking educational studies to assist her grandfather. She told them her grandfather was the one who introduced her to Genkai and suggested the training. She didn't tell them the shrine powers were real or that they were needed to defend against real youkai. They all thought she was a very dutiful granddaughter to give up her weekends.

"I think you are giving up way too much time for this training," Eri said. "It is all well and good to be a dutiful daughter; but really, this is your time to be young. This is high school and you've been going there every weekend for the past five months. You aren't getting to have any fun. Now you say there is trouble with some man? Is he a pervert? You have to be careful about that sort of thing. Just let me know and we'll take care of any pervert troubles. You do NOT have to put up with that." Eri was righteously indignant.

"No, no," Kagome said, waving her arms. "He isn't a pervert, not at all." Then she looked into her soda. "I should be so lucky," she continued quietly.

"Aha," said Yuka. "It _is_ boy trouble."

"But you said he was a man," Eri insisted.

"Well yes, but he is a young man," Kagome corrected herself. Youngish for a youkai she thought. She knew from talking to Yukina she and Hiei were adults and well over 100 years old, but they were still considered young by youkai standards.

"Tell us all about him. What does he look like?"

"He's beautiful. He had a tough, ugly childhood but he really does care about his friends and is very loyal. His hair is dark and very unusual. He's shorter than most men, but has great eyes that just glow and a fantastic chest. Everything is in perfect proportion."

"Everything," Eri asked? "That's too bad," she said archly.

Kagome flushed. "Eri! I don't know anything about that. You really have a dirty mind. Besides," Kagome continued with a sigh. "He doesn't like me that way. After our fight, I don't think he likes me at all." She sighed again.

"What did you fight about?"

"It's hard to explain. I knew something that was a bit of a secret. Hiei thought only a couple of people knew about it, but really the one person he didn't want to know about it already knew about it. Then I guessed it and made the mistake of letting it slip to him that I knew. Anyway, we had a big fight about it and I told him the person from whom it was supposed to be a secret knew about it and, well, one thing led to another and… and we had a big fight." She sighed again.

"Well that certainly makes everything clear," Yuka said with a grimace.

"I haven't seen him since the fight," she said.

"Wait a minute. Is he the reason you haven't done anything after school? Have you been spending all this time with a new boyfriend and didn't even tell us?"

"NO! I've been spending it training."

"Training in what area of expertise?" Eri demanded pointedly. "Have you been seeing this boy after school?"

"Ummm, yes, but really we were training. It was practice," Kagome said weakly.

"Really?" Yuka asked skeptically.

"I think it sounds so sweet. He's helping her help her grandfather. He must really like her, even if they did have a fight," Ayumi said.

"No, he just enjoys winning," Kagome said sadly. "He has never given me any indication he liked me like that. I think it was just a silly fantasy of mine. I haven't seen him ever since our fight which was three days ago. Knowing him, I may never see him again."

"Cheer up. There are lots of other fish in the sea if he swims off," Eri said pragmatically.

"Not like this particularly fish."

. .

. .

Kagome walked home from the WacDonalds. She was feeling pretty good about things and decided she should spend more time with her childhood friends. She couldn't tell them about her past; she couldn't tell them much about her present and she couldn't tell them what she _did_ know or suspect about her future. She could, however, sit with them at WacDonalds over a soda and pretend for a few minutes she was just a normal girl. Kagome definitely felt better after spending an hour with them and decided she really should do it more often.

Suddenly Kagome felt the wind rush by her. She felt a painful push and fell onto the ground. There was another rush of wind and her neck hurt from the sudden scratch. When Kagome looked up from ground she saw Hiei standing over her.

"You lose, miko," he said simply.

"Hiei, you're back." Kagome grinned up at him from her place on the ground. She felt wonderful.

"Any low level youkai could have killed you easily. You were paying no attention whatsoever. Where have you been? You are late."

"It's good to see you too, Hiei. I stopped at WacDonalds with my friends for a soda. We've been drifting apart and I wanted to spend some time with them."

Hiei just stared at her while she made this comment.

"You ignore your senses? You deserve to be hurt. What is the point of this if you pay no attention when you aren't expecting an attack? I have been too predictable. That ends now!" Hiei attacked her and forced her to raise her barrier. He continued attacking it for 15 minutes before Kagome dropped it and tried to hit him with a purified pencil. He ducked around it and hit her hard. She fell to the ground and he followed up by throwing a small energy attack her direction. Kagome managed to throw her barrier up again to stop it, but she let it fall and he swept in and he grabbed her by the neck. It was quite painful and he gave her a little shake before releasing her.

"You lose, Miko," he said firmly.

After the fight Hiei and Kagome walked towards the shrine as had been their habit. Neither one of them said much but it was a companionable silence. Kagome spoke up first.

"I'm sorry, Hiei," she said in the small very polite voice. "I didn't mean to let it slip about Yukina. It's completely your business."

Hiei was silent for a minute or two. "I talked with Yukina," he said finally.

"Mm hmm?" she said. She tried to make it sound both non committal and encouraging. Hiei glanced at her and was silent for another long moment.

"Thank you, Miko," he said.

"You're welcome, Hiei." She didn't say anything else.

They continued in an amiable silence as they arrived onto the shrine grounds and began walking up the steps. Suddenly Hiei froze and stared at the top of the steps with narrowed eyes. Kagome remembered what happened the last time she saw that look and without another word she started running up the stairs and throwing her aura out to try to trace her family. Her miko energy flared up and she pushed her senses out as she ran.

"Mama, Souta, Grandpa," she shouted.

- -

- -

So that's why it had to stop here. There's a little cliffy.

- ---- ---

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate each and every one. If you like it, please let me know. If you think it has flaws, please let me know that also. I revised the last chapter based on some accurate concrit I got from Lovelywitch.

I've already responded to those on directly so here are the ones for mediaminer.

. .

Ice Vixen X: Yeah, I could see any of us doing that. She needed to hear Hiei pointing out "I am not a child. I've been around the block a few times." He's definitely not as immature as Inuyasha. Plus I noticed the Makai seems to be a strange combination of castles and technology. They definitely have all sorts of things humans don't seem to have.

Bloodcherry: Thank you so much for the kind words. I really, really appreciate them. Reviews like yours keep me writing.

JaneyJane428: Yeah, when they finally kiss I want it to seem realistic. They will definitely get around to it eventually, but all these other people and scenes keep inserting themselves between Hiei and Kagome and their feelings. g I will definitely keep going with this fic. A chapter which served as the ending for the contest version has already been written, but I keep having ideas so it keeps expanding.

Madmiko: As always, I so appreciate the time you put into a review. Kurama is definitely trying to use a little kitsune charm on her. I'm glad you liked that line "never apologize for strength." It seemed very Hiei-ish to me when I came up with it. They are learning more about each other. Hiei is starting to realize he doesn't like all this talk of other males. I'm sorry the promised eye candy didn't make it into this chapter but I hope you enjoy the scenes which did go in here. Eri is very officious. She just has to know what is happening in everyone's life and give them advice. She knows what is best for all of her friends (if she does say so herself) LOL.


	8. What Are You Doing Here?

_**I don't own any part of Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. I make no money from this fic.**_

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I decided to post this early.

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They continued in an amiable silence as they arrived onto the shrine grounds and started up the steps. Suddenly Hiei froze and stared at the top of the steps with narrowed eyes. Kagome remembered what happened the last time she saw that look and without another word she started running up the stairs and throwing her aura out to try to trace her family. Her miko energy flared up and she pushed her senses out as she ran.

"Mama, Souta, Grandpa!" Kagome shouted as she reached the top of the stairs. She saw Mama just walking quickly out of the house.

"Kagome, are you alright? What's wrong?" Mama looked worried.

"Am I alright? Are you alright? Who's here? Hiei stopped suddenly partway up the stairs. He had the same look he got when Souta was attacked. Then I felt youki also. Are Souta and Grandpa safe?"

"Of course they are safe. I don't know why Hiei would cause you concern. A friend of yours stopped by to bring a gift and wait for you to come home from school," Mama said. At that moment Kurama stepped calmly out of the door of the house.

"Eh?" Kagome was relieved and confused at the same time. She felt like sitting down before her suddenly rubbery legs gave out.

"I'm very sorry to worry you, Kagome-chan. It was a mistake for me to assume you would recognize my youki and not be concerned."

"I wasn't really analyzing whether or not the youki was familiar. Once Hiei got that look on his face I was so worried I just raced up the stairs. It seemed really strong."

"Why thank you, Kagome-chan," Kurama said with a smile.

"What are you doing here, fox?" Hiei demanded with a scowl.

"Kagome, why don't you come inside and join us for some tea?" Mama moved out of the doorway and Kagome started to go into the house. Kagome stopped and turned back.

"Hiei, please come have a cup of tea also."

"Hn." He eyed the fox suspiciously as he followed them. Kurama and Kagome continued into the house, but Mama stopped Hiei. He gave her a quizzical look.

"Don't think I didn't notice that bandage on Kagome's arm. She's been holding it very gingerly. What happened?"

"The miko dropped her shield," Hiei replied. Mama gave him a narrow eyed look.

"I won't have my daughter hurt," she said fiercely.

"Then she should improve her barrier." Hiei started into the house but stopped and turned back to Mama. He gave her a severe look. "The miko must learn how to protect herself. Her barriers only last 20 minutes and she still can't attack easily without her bow. She ignores her senses. A hostile youkai would kill her before she realized it was there; or she would die trying to 'make friends' with it." Hiei looked disgusted. "Do you want your daughter to live? Then a cut on the arm is nothing. She is a powerful miko, onna. Youkai will always be drawn to her. She must train or you will lose her." He turned and went after Kurama and Kagome. Mama eyed him thoughtfully and slowly followed him into the house.

"What are you doing here, fox?" Hiei said again.

"I was just bringing Higurashi-san some flowers," Kurama responded pleasantly.

"Minamino-san came to visit and wait for you to come home from school, Kagome. He's been telling me a little more about your training. Look at the gorgeous flowers he brought me."

"Wow, you brought my mother flowers. That is SO considerate of you," Kagome said as she gifted Kurama with a big smile. Mama laughed softly to herself. She was under no illusions about who the flowers were designed to impress. It did look as though they had had the desired effect.

"It has been five months since we first met and I thought that deserved some recognition," Kurama said.

{That and I _thought_ Hiei was gone and it was a good time to gain her attention} Kurama continued privately to Youko.

Kagome went to smell the flowers. They were a beautiful arrangement of white and coral blossoms with greens and vines accenting the flowers. Except for some huge coral roses, Kagome didn't recognize any of the blooms.

"Don't touch those," Hiei said sharply.

Kagome pulled back from the bouquet. "Eh? Why?"

"Kurama's plants bite. Those are Makai flowers. Kurama has plants which can put you to sleep or wrap you in a death grip for 100 years."

Both Kagome and her mother looked at the arrangement with some trepidation. Kagome remembered Kurama's rose whip and the flowers suddenly didn't seem quite so innocent anymore. Kurama growled at Hiei.

"Don't be absurd, Hiei. Every blossom there was selected for its beauty and aroma as well as for its safety. There isn't so much as a sticker or a thorn in the entire bouquet. They are all perfectly safe to both touch and smell. Kagome, I would never bring a dangerous plant into your house or give one to your mother."

"I'm sure you're right. I'm sorry." She leaned over to smell the flowers and then smiled at Kurama again before turning to Hiei. "Hiei, it was very considerate of Kurama-kun to bring Mama the flowers."

"It _was_ considerate of Kurama to bring your mother flowers; very appropriate, too. He _is_ over 1,000 years old."

Both Mama and Kagome looked startled. "1000 years old? Kurama-kun, you're 1000 years old? That _does_ seem rather old," Kagome said in a small voice. "Myouga said Lord Sesshoumaru was 600 years old and while he looked young, he certainly didn't act at all young."

Hiei took the opportunity to smirk at the fox. *Yes, Kurama. That _does_ seem rather old* Youko responded by snarling at Hiei mentally.

{Don't be concerned, Youko. I can fix this.}

"I thought you were the age you seemed," Mama Higurashi said. She was rather taken aback. "You mentioned a mother, a step father and a step brother. I thought they were all human. You said you were in school."

Mama Higurashi had been very pleased to meet Kurama. It was apparent he was interested in Kagome. He was a male who was powerful, good looking and different enough to potentially interest Kagome; but he also seemed to have a stable life in the Ningenkai. If Kagome developed a relationship with Kurama she wouldn't lose her daughter and future grandchildren to some strange land. Mama was more than a little disconcerted to find out her approved potential suitor was 1,000 years old.

"They_ are_ all human. My family is very important to me. My current life is here in the Ningenkai. I am only 21 years old in this body. I work part time in my step father's company and attend University. Actually, I'm probably a little dull," he said with a self deprecating smile.

"In this body?" Kagome asked delicately. Then her voice got firmer. "Just what are you anyway? I've been wondering that for a long time. You aren't a hanyou, but you don't appear to be a full kitsune youkai. You seem to have dual natures like you are part human and part youkai. _Are_ you a hanyou?"

"Not exactly; I am an avatar. I am Kurama, a blending of the youkai Youko Kurama and Shuuichi Minamino, who I would have been if Youko hadn't entered our mother when I was in utero.

Kagome gasped. "He stole a body like he stole Shippou's picture?" She looked horrified.

*Fox, you are digging yourself in deeper.*

"No, no. It is a blending."

"Was the soul who would have become Shuuichi Minamino given any choice when Youko 'blended with him'? Kagome snapped.

"There was no time and my soul was too unformed. The person who would have been Shuuichi virtually didn't exist. Instead I became Kurama."

"That's horrible. He stole your life? No, he stole Shuuichi's life."

"No he didn't. He added to my life. I _am_ Shuuichi. I'm just… _more_. I can't imagine being anything but Kurama," Kurama said earnestly. "Without Youko, I would have been a normal ningen boy. I would have been intelligent, but not as intelligent as I am. I wouldn't be able to do the things I do or have the memories and experience of 1,000 years to fall back on. I'd have lived a normal, common ningen life. There would have been no spirit detectives and no Makai. My mother would have died of a wasting disease 5 years ago if Youko hadn't chosen her to enter. She is alive today and happily married because I was able to steal something from the Reikai. Through this blending my life will be decades longer than that of an ordinary ningen and I will keep my youth for decades we think. We really don't know how long. And there is something just as important as all that."

"What?" Kagome asked.

"Without Youko I would never have met you," Kurama smiled sweetly at her. Kagome sat silently and stared at him. Hiei growled mentally and Youko smirked.

[Heh. Clearly my 1,000 years of experience _has_ rubbed off on you, Kurama.]

. . .

True to his word, Hiei tried to attack her at unexpected moments. It was summer so her school was spending more time outside. He would attack her at gym and lunch. A couple of times she was in the school hallway and suddenly felt youki. She threw up a barrier and something crashed into before it vanished. Kagome looked around but all she could see were other students in their school uniforms. She saw a kid in his uniform head around the corner, but by the time she got there he was gone. When she asked Hiei about it he just said "I told you I would not be predictable. Use your senses."

Kagome was enjoying a soda with her friends again about a week after Hiei came back. She decided Hiei was right and she didn't want to be too predictable either. She told her friends Hiei had shown up and seemed to forgive her for her mistake.

She was relaxed and just listening to Eri and Yuka talk about the boys in their high school. This one was cute. That one was cute but really dumb. A third one was still seeing his girl friend from middle school and wouldn't look at anyone else. Most of the boys were dismissed by Eri and Yuka without much discussion. Suddenly Eri sat up straight. She and Yuka could see the door; Ayumi and Kagome were facing away from it.

"Babe Alert! Look out, there's two major drool factors headed this way; prime Kobe beef on the hoof. No, no, don't turn around. It will be obvious you're staring at them." Despite Eri's comment, Ayumi turned to look at the two new boys who had just entered the restaurant. Kagome just took another sip of her soda.

"Wow, they are cute," Ayumi said.

"Cute is not the word I would use to describe those two. Those are beautiful, drop dead gorgeous male specimens. Let's smile at them when they go by," Yuka said. "Maybe we can get them to stop and talk to us." She patted her hair and sat up straighter.

Yusuke and Kurama walked past the girls and Kurama noticed Kagome sitting there. He stopped and Yusuke stopped beside him. "Kagome-chan, how nice to see you." Three jaws dropped and Eri, Yuka and Ayumi's eyes all went wide when Kurama and Yusuke stopped and said hello to Kagome.

"Hello Kurama-kun, how are you doing today?" Kagome asked

"Very well, thank you. Yusuke and I just stopped by to get a drink. It is warm out today."

"Yes it is," Kagome agreed politely. Watching them critically, she could understand why her friends were going gaga over Kurama and his friend. They were truly worthy of some admiration. Walking side by side, they were breathtaking contrasts of masculine beauty.

Kurama was 21. He had grown some from his days with the spirit detectives. Today he was wearing jeans and a buttoned shirt. They displayed his slender but muscular physique well. His face had lost some of the sheer beauty which made people mistake him for a girl and had developed more angles and less softness. Now he was clearly a man with red hair and piercing green eyes. He wore his red hair long and in a topknot which flowed down past his shoulders. He was very exotic looking in Japan.

Yusuke had changed even more than Kurama. He had been 14 years old during his days as a spirit detective. He was now 20 and had grown up a great deal. Some of the changes in his body were caused by time and some of them were caused by his Mazoku blood. Some of them were even caused by psychological maturity. Yusuke had stopped gelling his hair against his skull. He still wore it fairly short, but the thick brown hair curved gracefully around his head and shone from natural highlights instead of artificial products. Yusuke's face had also developed more mature masculine angles and he had added a lot of height. He wasn't slender, though. His muscles were built up from work and blood and he had a very broad chest and slender hips. The t-shirt and jeans he wore displayed this to great advantage. The t-shirt was tight and delineated his deltoids and biceps on the outside of his arms. They bulged with health and projected power to even the most spiritually obtuse ningen female. His eyes were the same deep chocolate brown they were when he was younger. Rather than penetrating the people he looked upon, though, most women and some men wanted to just fall into his eyes and disappear.

"Kagome-chan, you haven't met Yusuke yet, have you? Kagome-chan, this is Yusuke Urameshi. Yusuke, this is Kagome Higurashi."

Kagome remained seated but gave Yusuke a short bow of greeting. "I have heard a lot about you, Urameshi-san. It's very nice to meet you."

Yusuke snorted and waved his arm dismissively. "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you, too. Who'd have thought the old hag would find someone else to torture. Hell, we've both been trained by Genkai. That practically makes you my sister. While we're at it, you should call me Yusuke, no honorific. Everyone else does." Then he laughed and continued, "Well, except for a bunch of freaky monks who call me 'Your Majesty.'" Kurama smiled and all the girls laughed at this. Kagome was the only girl who realized Yusuke wasn't joking about being called 'Your Majesty.' Kurama and Hiei talked about the human turned Mazoku frequently.

Eri spoke up. "Kagome-chan, do you know these gentlemen? Why don't you introduce us," she said eagerly.

"Yes, of course I will Eri-chan. Kurama-Kun? Yusuke-Kun? These are my friends Eri-chan, Yuka-chan and Ayumi-chan. Everyone, this is Yusuke Urameshi and Shuuichi Minamino."

"Are you the Shuuichi Minamino they still talk about at Meiou Academy? You have to be the same one. No one else could have that red hair or green eyes," Yuka stated.

"I'm not sure if they are still talking about me but I did attend Meiou." Kurama said briefly.

"So everyone calls you Kurama-kun?" Eri continued.

"No," Kurama said firmly. "I am Shuuichi Minamino." Even Eri picked up he did not want to be called Kurama by strangers.

[The nerve of her] said Youko to Kurama in an offended mental tone.

Do you live here in Tokyo, Yusuke Kun? Eri asked?

"Pretty much I do. I split my time between here and my ancestor's lands. The monks get anxious if I'm gone too much. You know how freaktoids can be." He just shrugged his shoulders. Half the women in the restaurant sighed at the movement.

"Your ancestor's lands? That sounds very interesting," Eri said with a smile. "Have you inherited them?"

"Oh yeah, mores' the luck. I manage to get out of most of the day to day crap, but I still spend more time there doing dumb shit and not enough time on the fun shit like kicking somebody's ass."

"Yusuke, please," Kurama said meaningfully. "We are in the presence of lovely ladies here." It wouldn't be beyond Yusuke for him to pop out with a story about shooting the wings off some rampaging bat youkai. Virtually everyone he knew already knew about the Makai and Yusuke didn't think to censor his conversation anymore.

"That's alright. I'd love to hear more about your lands," Eri was quick to say.

"I had this big contest to find someone to take it over. It worked, too, but really he's more like a boss over everything. He doesn't concern himself with the little day to day shit. There are always things to do. I enjoy kicking the idiots' asses when it's needed and sometimes it's needed to show a bunch of fools they can't take over Raizen's old lands; but man, there's actually paperwork involved in being the boss. Yuck. Who'd have thought it? Better yet, who'd have thought I'd be doing it halfway willingly." He laughed at himself. "Coming to Tokyo is like taking a vacation. I can relax."

"Do you get to Tokyo very often? Do you get to see many movies? There's a really great one that just came out. I don't think any of us have had a chance to see it yet," Eri continued quite boldly. Kurama smiled. He could tell Yusuke was just chatting with Kagome and her friends. He was completely oblivious to this approach.

"Hell yeah, my fiancée Keiko would kick my ass if I didn't spend enough time in Tokyo. Now there's a scary woman."

"It takes a strong personality to keep you in line, Yusuke," Kurama said slyly. Yusuke laughed. He didn't mind.

"Oh, that's nice." Eri visibly deflated before turning to Kurama. "So what have you been doing since high school," she asked brightly. It didn't take 1000 years of experience or youkai blood for Kurama to recognize a predatory look when he saw one.

"This and That," he said before continuing quickly. "Kagome-chan, please excuse us. Yusuke and I should get our drinks and get going. We don't want to interrupt your visit with your friends and we should get back to what we were doing. I look forward to seeing you at Genkai's temple this Saturday." He neglected to mention he and Yusuke had been doing nothing more critical than catching up on the news. He recognized Eri's type and both he and Youko wanted to depart.

"Yes, of course, Kurama-kun. Have a nice day."

"Thank you." He and Yusuke both said goodbye, purchased their sodas and then left the restaurant. Kagome's friends watched them silently during this process before turning to her. Yuka started the interrogation.

"Where did you meet Minamino-san? He is still famous at the school and he's been gone for several years."

"He and Yusuke know Genkai sensei. Kur… uh… Shuuichi-kun practices martial arts with Hiei."

"Who is Hiei?"

"Oh, he's one I was telling you about last week. He's the one who is helping me train."

"I remember now. I can't imagine why you are concerned about him if you have Minamino-san to drool over."

Kagome just shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I'm weird that way." She drank some soda. A couple of girls Kagome vaguely knew came over to ask Yuka and Ayumi about the hunks with whom they had been talking. Kagome listened to the conversation but didn't add to it. It seemed a little surreal to her for her school life and her miko youkai hunting life to intersect this way. She supposed it wasn't all that much of a coincidence. People did go to WacDonalds and clearly youkai got thirsty just like ningen.

About 10 minutes later Kagome decided it was time to leave. "I should go. If he is waiting to train he will very annoyed I'm not there."

"You were the one who said you didn't want to be too predictable," Yuka said.

"You're quite right," Eri agreed. "Always keep them guessing. Have you kissed him yet?" She asked eagerly.

"No. I told you. I don't think he likes me that way."

"Well, why not? You should just take the initiative if you are interested. That's what I do." Eri said when Kagome interrupted her.

"Could we talk about something besides my non-existent love life?" She said in a loud voice in a suddenly quiet restaurant. Kagome cringed and banged her head on the table. "Ayumi, kill me now," she said forlornly. Eri and Yuka sat bolt upright again when they saw the cause of the silence.

"Oooo, Oooo, Oooo, dibs on this one," Yuka said. She bounced on the seat.

"Ha. It's every woman for herself," Eri said enthusiastically. "A gorgeous model hunk of manhood just walked in the door. Kami-Sama! What luscious shoulders. I want; I want; I want! How does he get his hair to do that? It's fantastic. Those eyes! NO! Ayumi don't look around. He'll see us. Oh, he did. He's coming this way. Quiet. Maybe he likes my looks," Eri said.

"Or mine," countered Yuka.

'Or maybe he's just an irritated hiyoukai who's pissed I stopped to spend time with my friends,' Kagome thought. She sighed. She didn't need to turn around to know who was walking through the restaurant.

Hiei stopped at the table. He gave the three ningen a cursory dismissive glance before settling on Kagome. He was wearing his usual black pants which gathered at the ankles. They were accented with two belts. Kagome had been fantasizing of late about what would happen if she managed to burn the belts with miko energy. Would the pants fall down? What, if anything, would he be wearing underneath? Today he wore a blue scoop necked shirt on top which was cut off at the shoulders. The blue went well with his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched her with a narrow red eyed gaze. His arm and shoulder muscles flexed due to their position and Kagome had to admit he did look spectacular standing there glaring at her. Admiring the curve of his arm and shoulder muscles was more entertaining than looking at the glare in his eyes.

"Hello, my name is Eri. I'm so pleased to meet you."

Hiei looked at her briefly before returning his attention to Kagome. "Miko!"

"Yo…" Kagome had to bite her tongue. Hiei smirked. He knew she couldn't call him youkai in front of her friends.

"Miko, what are you doing?"

Kagome looked down at her soda cup as though she just noticed it. "Why look at that. It appears I'm enjoying a drink with some friends." She smiled at Hiei.

Hiei frowned at her and growled. "Your school ended."

"Well, _you _were the one who said we were too predictable," Kagome said. "I am entitled to have an occasional afternoon with friends," she continued. Hiei growled again.

"Miko, you are late. You should be training, not sitting here discussing your non-existent love life." He frowned at her.

Kagome flushed and banged her head on the table again. "Ayumi, kill me now. Please!"

"Why ask her? I would be happy to oblige," Hiei said bitingly.

Yuka spoke up. "Those are the most realistic red contacts I have _ever_ seen. Where did you get them?"

"What?" Hiei turned to Yuka. He looked perplexed.

"Your eyes - You have amazing colored eyes. Where did you get them?"

"My mother." Hiei gave her a strange look and turned back to Kagome. Kagome just smiled. She had found her equilibrium again. Who knew Hiei could have a sense of humor, she thought. Then again, he may not know what Yuka meant by contacts. All the humanoid youkai she had met were either naturally magnificent or didn't care about it. Physical enhancements just didn't strike her as being a 'youkai thing.'

"You choose, Miko. We begin here or we leave now." Hiei boosted his youki up a small degree to show he meant exactly what he said. Kagome growled at him but jumped to her feet. Neither one of them noticed a slender male eye them warily and scrunch into the corner.

"We can definitely go practice at the shrine. I know there is an arrow or two with your name on it," Kagome said with a smile.

"Wow," Ayumi said. "You both must practice growling a lot. It's very realistic."

"Hn; much practice since meeting the miko," Hiei said. Kagome gave him a dirty look but didn't say anything.

Eri, Yuka and Ayumi watched them go out the door. Then Ayumi turned to the others and sighed.

"Don't they look cute together? He must have come looking for her because he missed her. Kagome-chan may not think he likes her, but that's a very good sign," she said with a nod of her head.

"Who cares if he likes her," Eri said with a small scowl. "Now that I think about it, that bad boy she was seeing in middle school was really good looking too. You know the one I mean with his silver hair and unusual eyes."

"Where does she find all these gorgeous men?" Yuka wanted to know.

"More importantly, why isn't she sharing them with us? Eri asked pointedly.

. . .

There you go; eye candy times three. I tried to make them physically distinct.

I loved how the cliffhanger got all sorts of responses. It was great. I decided not to be evil and make you wait longer for this chapter. The good news is I posted the chapter early. The bad news is because I posted chapter 8 early, it will be a good two to three weeks until I can put up chapter 9. It's only about half written. I figured you'd rather have the end of the cliffy early and then wait a bit extra for the next chapter.

Thank You to each and every one of my reviewers. You are all wonderful to take the time to comment.

Whether you think Kurama is a 'good youkai' or a 'bad youkai' depends on your point of view -g- Hiei certainly wasn't thrilled to find him there.

This time it was Hiei's turn to tell Mama a few "home truths." A cut on the arm is trivial compared to the alternative. g

I have no idea how age became such a theme in this fic. It all started out with a piece of birthday cake. I have always thought there could be issues pairing a 1 – 2,000 year old being with an innocent 18 year old. It was a tough sell for me. It just occurred to me that perhaps Kurama really would be too old for Kagome. Naturally, I think Hiei is just right ;-)


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